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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551917">The Idiot in his Unnatural Habitat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livitup/pseuds/Livitup'>Livitup</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>He's My Idiot [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassination Classroom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, Here we go again guys, Humor, ItoTera, M/M, RoadTrip!, Terasaka has a sister, assassination classroom - Freeform, lots of ships, m/m - Freeform, random chaos, sequel tiiiime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:15:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,637</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551917</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livitup/pseuds/Livitup</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Terasaka has a boyfriend, a gang, and a van. After a conversation with Koro Sensei about taking control of his life, Terasaka decides to track down his younger sister who he hasn't seen in years. But he can't do it alone...<br/>Itona is finally coming to terms with his new life with the now weakened tentacles. He has classmates and a fairly idiotic boyfriend. Itona's fine with going across the country, as long as it's with Terasaka.<br/>Hazama has been facing her own romantic struggles as of late, the kind that writing a certain someone as a princess in her secret real life fanfiction can't help. And now She who Will Not Be Named might be joining the gang...<br/>Muramatsu's actually doing pretty good in life! He has a girlfriend, and the ramen business is really picking up. New opportunities are appearing left and right, and Matsu's surrounded by opportunity...but is he willing to leave his friends behind to take them?<br/>Yoshida's actually not doing pretty good in life. The past is coming back to haunt him, and he's out of hair gel. Maybe a road trip is what he needs to kick this slump.<br/>The Terasaka bands together with several new members, a pile of giftcards and a broken gps. And the guy they kidnapped.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asano Gakushuu &amp; Nakamura Rio, Hazama Kirara/Kurahashi Hinano, Horibe Itona &amp; Terasaka Ryouma, Horibe Itona/Terasaka Ryouma, Muramatsu Takuya/Yoshida Taisei, more not included, obviously itona/terasaka is the big one</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>He's My Idiot [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. How it all Started</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Well, here we are. I did it. I'm writing a sequel. Holy crap. Out of the entire cast I picked eleven characters to throw together in a roadtrip from hell. I honestly don't know how to explain my thought process XD<br/>Oh jeez I'm really excited. I've never written a sequel before. (Side note: You don't have to read the entirety of my other fic to read this one)</p><p>I'm gonna shut up now. I hope you guys enjoy!!! (Terasaka POV to start)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Terasaka's POV</p><p>When one has a boyfriend, a solid friend group and a van, he feels pretty freaking great. He feels even freaking better when two months of summer vacation is coming up. Oh man, was I ever ready for summer. No homework, no class, just me and my gang taking ass and making names. Wait, that's not right.... Anyways, it was gonna be awesome. Two whole months of no reading. I was ready. </p><p>I shot a look at my gang. Itona raised an eyebrow and gave me a thumbs up. Hazama rolled her eyes, but she did give me a small smile. Yoshida was slumped over his desk, looking dead. He gave me a smile that looked more like a grimace. He'd seemed kinda off lately. I'd push him in a lake or something to make him feel better. </p><p>The only one who didn't look back at me was Muramatsu. He was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Hara. Don't get me wrong, Hara's a sweet girl, but if Matsu was any sappier, he'd turn into a pile of Matsu-mush on the floor. I threw a piece of paper at him. It hit him on the head. Bullseye! </p><p>Matsu glared at me and threw the paper back, giving me the finger. I mimed where he could shove that finger, before looking back at the clock. Five more minutes. Five more minutes until-</p><p>"Terasaka!" the octopus called. I jumped out of my seat. </p><p>"YOU GOTTA BE FUCKIN' KIDDING ME!" I yelled. "YOU COULDN'T HAVE WAITED FIVE MINUTES SO I'D HAVE TIME TO RUN?!"</p><p>"I thought now would be a good time to discuss the, ah, thirty seven missing assignments you've totaled." the octopus said, gesturing outside of the classroom. I groaned and shot a helpless look at Itona, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. </p><p> </p><p>"Terasaka, I admit I'm a little concerned." Koro sensei said once we were alone. "You just aren't showing the motivation you used to."</p><p>I wasn't listening. I was watching a moth flutter by. I like moths. </p><p>"You're the only one that can change your life." the octopus continued. "What's something you really want Terasaka?"</p><p>"Moth." I said, before zoning back in. "Uh, say that again?"</p><p>"What's something you really want?" Koro sensei asked patiently. </p><p>I thought about it. I kinda had everything I wanted. Friends, a van, Itona, I was pretty good. Before I could stop it, a rush of memories flooded wherever it is that memories are stored in. </p><p>"My sister." I said, suddenly. Crap, I'd broken my streak of not thinking about the little rugrat. God, how long had it been? My parents had taken her with them to better and brighter things. I, Terasaka the moron, was destined to stay.</p><p>"Well, I was thinking academically, but that works too." the octopus said. "The point is, you have to think about what you want and strive for it. What's changed in your life? Is there anything you can use to get to your goals that you couldn't before?"</p><p>Normally I'd say that it was illegal to think this close to summer, but I felt myself actually putting some brain power into this. And I even had an answer. </p><p>"I have friends now! I can amass a small army! And I have my driver's license now! I can go places!!!"</p><p>"Terasaka, I'm talking about school-" but he didn't get any farther than that. The bell rang, and I was free. </p><p>"YEAH!" I yelled. "Thanks for the idea." I patted the octopus's shoulder before sprinting towards the outside. On the way I dumped my bag in the trash. </p><p>"Terasaka, you're going to need that in two months." Hazama said drily. </p><p>"Oh. Right." I said, yanking it back out. Now it smelled like fish.</p><p> </p><p>Once my gang had assembled under our tree, I revealed my master plan. "It's summer! And we're gonna go on a roadtrip!"</p><p>"Where to?" my loyal shrimp asked. He was flipping a little screw driver through his hands, probably looking for something to screw...that came out wrong. </p><p>"I dunno. I think it's far away." I said. "Good thing we have two months!"</p><p>"I'm sorry, you expect us to drop everything and go "somewhere far away" for two months with you?" Hazama asked.</p><p>"Yup!"</p><p>"Alright." she shrugged. </p><p>"Yoshi, you in?" I asked. </p><p>"Sure." he shrugged, not saying anything else. Yes, he was in desperate need of a lake-pushing. </p><p>"Matsu! My buddy, my ramen dealer!"</p><p>"I can't!" he whined. "Hara and I were going to hang out."</p><p>"Bring her with." I said. "The more the merrier!" </p><p>"May I come?" asked my phone. </p><p>"Of course. You're very important." I said, patting it. Wait. "RITSU!"</p><p>"Sorry! Did I scare you again?" she peeped. </p><p>"YES! But yeah, you can come too." I said. "Let's see, who else wants to come?"</p><p>"Are we seriously organizing this?" Itona asked.</p><p>"Yup." I said happily. "Hey Zama, how about we invite She Who Will Not be Named."</p><p>Hazama's face turned crimson. "NO! I mean, she probably won't want to go, I mean, um...I'll invite her, don't you dare do anything!"</p><p>"What's five plus three!" I yelled, before remembering I had fingers. "It's nine!"</p><p>"Eight." Itona said, putting one of my fingers down. "Good try though." </p><p>"We need more." I said, scanning around. "HEY NERD! WANNA GO ON A ROADTRIP?!" I yelled.</p><p>Takebayashi stopped like he'd been shocked. He slowly turned around to face me. "May I ask why?"</p><p>"Well, there may be some special cafes which may be of interest to classy gentlemen like ourselves." I said, raising my eyebrows. Come on nerd, use those braincells and get what I'm trying to say here...</p><p>Takebayashi adjusted his glasses. "I suppose you drive a hard bargain."</p><p>I grinned. "This is gonna be great. The Terasaka gang will travel the world!!</p><p> </p><p>Itona's POV</p><p>Terasaka suggesting that we drop everything to go on a random road trip to god knows where isn't the weirdest thing that could happen. And here I was worrying that we might have a boring summer. I shouldn't have worried, nothing's ever a dull moment with Terasaka. </p><p>We were walking home now, just the two of us. Terasaka got in trouble last week for parking his van near the school since he didn't have an official parking pass or parking spot, something that he hasn't stopped complaining about. I don't mind the walking though. It's a lot more peaceful.</p><p>"We'd be home by now if we had my van." Terasaka grumbled. I called it.</p><p>"Shut up and enjoy nature." I said. </p><p>Terasaka looked around for a moment before turning back to me. "Ok, I'm done enjoying nature."</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "Idiot."</p><p>He grabbed me, pulling me against his chest before ruffling my hair. "I love you."</p><p>"I love you too." I said, trying to sound exasperated. "Hey, you wanna tell me why we're literally going to travel the country?"</p><p>"Oh." he released me. "Remember the sister I told you about?"</p><p>"The one you forbade me from mentioning?"</p><p>"That's the one! Anyways, I had a talk with the octopus about taking control of my fate, and I think that this is the best way to do it. I wanna try and see her again."</p><p>"So you're dragging a bunch of us with you."</p><p>"Bingo!" Terasaka said, perking back up. "I'm, ahem, maybe too nervous to go alone..."</p><p>"Hey, you're stuck with me remember." I said. "If you're going to get lost somewhere in Japan, then I'll be there with you."</p><p>"Thanks Ito. Really." Terasaka said. "Hey speaking of stuck, how are you feeling."</p><p>Without thinking I reached up and felt my head. "I don't know. Itchy?"</p><p>"Well that's better than psychotic killing episodes." Terasaka said. "But hey, if you ever start feeling sick you gotta promise me that you'll tell me. Then I'll break all road safety laws to get you to a hospital."</p><p>"Because they'd definitely know what was going on." I said, shaking my head. "But I promise."</p><p>"Good! No one's dying on my watch." Terasaka said, crossing his arms. "Oh god this is gonna be so fun." he was bouncing on his heels like a little kid. </p><p>"Oh god. Do I have to wear the fun hat?" I groaned. The fun hat is a neon colored party hat Terasaka insists on making me wear every time I'm grumpy. Which is a lot. </p><p>"I'm gonna get fun hats for everyone!" Terasaka crowed.</p><p>"Hazama is literally going to kill you."</p><p>"You're right. I'll have to get her a black edgy one. Or I could make Kura-...She who must not be named give it to her."</p><p>"Not a bad plan." I said, nodding. </p><p>Terasaka grinned. "I'm just full of em." he looked around. "Uhhh...I think we took a wrong turn."</p><p>Somehow we were in the middle of a forest I didn't previously remember existing. "Well then."</p><p>"Well then." Terasaka said, looking around some more, before turning back to me. "You got any signal flares?"</p><p>"Why the fuck would I have-"</p><p>"Shh!" Terasaka shushed me. "I think I can figure out our location based on my senses alone." He closed his eyes tight and stuck his hands out in front of him like a zombie, shuffling his way forward. "I think I got it!" he called, before slamming into a tree. A tree that made a metallic clunk.</p><p>"OW!" Terasaka yelled, opening his eyes. "Hey!" He said. "I found civilization!" </p><p>It was one of the telephone poles that lined their way up the mountain. We weren't very far off track at all, and somehow neither of us had noticed that. I guess I may be an idiot as well. </p><p>Terasaka cocked his head. "Do you hear ringing? I hear ringing." he placed his ear to the pole. "Hello?"</p><p>"Great, now you have a concussion. Come on." I said, taking him by the hand and leading him back towards the path. </p><p>"I've done it Itona. I saved us from nature."</p><p>"Yes you did, good job."</p><p>"This road trip is gonna be awesome." He said wistfully, looking back at me. "Mainly cause I got you." </p><p> </p><p>Hazama's POV</p><p>I was able to get packed within a matter of seconds. When all one owns is black clothing, matching outfits isn't a concern. Why was I going along with this moronic travel plan? Why not. If it wasn't for the gang, I'd probably never go outside, or even speak. They're my people, and I stick with them, even if we're probably going to get arrested on this trip for something dumb. Oh well, prison will make my autobiography sound cooler. </p><p>I snatched my phone off my bed, checking it for what felt like the six trillionth time. There it was. One unread notification. I knew exactly who it was from, and most likely what it would say. After all this time of trying to become cold and unfeeling, my stomach continued to flutter every time I thought about the outcome of that text. </p><p>Ok, time to get the inevitable disappointment over with. I unlocked my phone and opened my texts, closing my eyes. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the text that I myself had sent earlier. </p><p>"Hey, I don't know if you already have plans, but if you don't, me and some friends are going on a road trip. Would you want to come?" And then, just below that...My heart dropped into my chest. </p><p>"Hey Hazama! Sure!! I'd love to!!! Mind sending me some more details tho? I promise I wanna go!! &lt;3 :) :D :P"</p><p>This girl had sent me three emojis and a heart. All of my cold and unfeeling training melted. I was all ready to sit around and be depressed too, after she said no. But she didn't say no...</p><p>Holy shit this was happening. </p><p>My elation was replaced by anxiety. This was Terasaka, of course we didn't have any other details. We didn't even know where we were going. I quickly dialed Terasaka, resolving to repeatedly call until he answered. Thankfully, it didn't come to that. He picked up on the first attempt. </p><p>"Terasaka!"</p><p>"Let a man pee in peace!" Terasaka yelled. </p><p>"Are you...in the bathroom?"</p><p>"Yeah! Jesus, so rude."</p><p>"Why did you pick up the call then!?"</p><p>"I...don't know." he seemed to be thinking. "Can I get back to you in a sec?"</p><p>"Yeah." I said, rolling my eyes. Only Terasaka would interrupt my love life for a bathroom break. Thankfully, he actually did get back to me quickly. </p><p>"Hey, it's Terasaka!"</p><p>"I know. I'm the one who called you."</p><p>"You never do that...Oh my god she said yes."</p><p>"She said yes!" I yelled, unable to contain my excitement any longer. </p><p>"Hell yeah!" Terasaka said. "Hey Itona, she said yes!"</p><p>"What the fuck are you talking about?" I heard Itona said. Even that made me smile. God, what was this? I felt so happy. </p><p>"Never mind, I'll catch you up later." Terasaka called. "So, we celebrating?"</p><p>"I need details first." I said. "Come on, at least give me something that faintly resembles a well thought out plan."</p><p>"Uh...we can meet at...eight thirty at the main campus parking lot." Terasaka said, surprising me. </p><p>"That's...a good idea." I said, surprised by the higher braincell functions. </p><p>"Hey, this is important." Terasaka said. "I got your back."</p><p>"Well in that case I'm screwed." I said, rolling my eyes. </p><p>"Shaddup. I'm gonna order you a mariachi band or something."</p><p>"Terasaka I will kill you."</p><p>Somehow, the two of us pulled together a semi decent plan which I sent back to Kurahashi. This was actually happening. This was actually friggen' happening. I was going to hang out with Kurahashi. </p><p>I mean, I had no idea where we were going, and I hate surprises, but just this once, I think I'll be ok with it. </p><p> </p><p>Muramatsu's POV</p><p>"I love you more!" I said, making a heart with my hands. </p><p>"No, I love you more." Hara responded, making the same heart. </p><p>"No, I love you mo-"</p><p>"Ughhhh, hang up already." Yoshida groaned. He was sprawled across my bed. "I'm gonna be sick. </p><p>"Ok, I gotta go." I said. "I have a grumpy third wheel over here."</p><p>"Fuck you too!" </p><p>"I'll see you tomorrow!" I said. "I love y-" Yoshida had gotten up just in time to slam my laptop closed. "Hey!" </p><p>"Yeah yeah, she loves you too. Whatever." he crossed his arms. "I hope you had me over for a decent reason other then making me listen to that shit."</p><p>Honestly, his tone surprised me. Yoshida had been grumpy and tense for a couple of weeks now. We'd originally said that he was on his man period, and laughed it off, but this was getting a little extreme. "It's friday the seventh."</p><p>I saw his eyes widen with recognition. "You remembered." </p><p>"Of course I did. I'm not as dumb as Terasaka." Ever since we were in elementary school, Yoshida and I have carried forward our tradition of making a massive helping of pasta decorated with marshmallows. I can't exactly remember how it started, but every friday the seventh, and hell, every seventh, we recreate our diabetes inducing creation. </p><p>"Even though we're apparently fleeing the country tomorrow?" Yoshida said. He was starting to look more like his old self. </p><p>"Wait, we're leaving the country?" I said. "I have a travel guide somewhere!"</p><p>"God, you're so lame." Yoshida said, rolling his eyes. </p><p>I gave him the finger. "Fuck off. Anyways, you're gonna help me pack later. Deal?"</p><p>"I'm gonna have to sleep over, aren't I." It wasn't a question. Yoshida knew the drill by now. We'd always been especially tight. I loved everyone in my gang to death, not that I'd tell them that, but Yoshida had always been my best friend. </p><p>"Yup. Don't worry. The couch is still made up and everything." I said, checking my laptop screen to make sure it hadn't cracked. </p><p>"You're lame and you're a mom friend." Yoshida said. </p><p>"I wear my title with pride."</p><p> </p><p>After consuming an ungodly amount of pasta topped with marshmallows, the two of us played some Mario Bros while we waited to see if we would explode or not.</p><p>"We need to stop making that much pasta." I groaned, accidentally walking straight into a mushroom. </p><p>"Are you kidding me? That was pathetic." Yoshida said, killing the mushroom that killed me. "And what are you talking about? It's food for the soul."</p><p>"Speaking of soul." I said, guiding my character in its bubble over to his. "Free mine."</p><p>"Nope. You're in a time out. For dying in a dumb way."</p><p>"And you think I'm the mom friend!" I yelled, whacking him with my controller. And then I remembered. My own mother had asked me to get the mail. "Shit, I gotta get the mail."</p><p>"It's eleven pm." Yoshida said, not looking up from the game. </p><p>"I forgot ok!" I yelled. "Don't start the boss battle without me."</p><p>"People in timeouts can't battle bosses." Yoshida said, still not looking at me. </p><p>"Fuck you too!" I said, stomping out of the door. It was decently warm out, and I hadn't bothered to put shoes on. Hopefully there wasn't a deadly reptile waiting to step on me. Yeah, those are the things I worry about. </p><p>I stuck my hand into the mailbox, yanking out a slightly larger load than usual. The reason why was quickly made clear. There was a package with my name on it. </p><p>Oh my god. This was it. Over three months ago I had applied for a famous cooking school down in Kyoto, and that right there, was their logo. They wouldn't bother sending a package if I was rejected...I was gonna be the next Gordon Ramsey! </p><p>I did a little dance before remembering I have neighbors and darting back inside. I slammed the door a little harder then I meant to. My excitement was taking over my body.</p><p>"Took you long enough." I heard Yoshida call. "You good?"</p><p>"Yeah." I said, feeling myself smile. "I'm great."</p><p> </p><p>Yoshida's POV</p><p>Whatever detergent Matsu uses on the sheets is heavenly.</p><p>Seriously, I'm telling you, they smell amazing. I know they're clean too, which is surprisingly comforting. Jesus, is this my life now? Being a sheet connoisseur? I don't know how I feel about that. </p><p>Honestly, I don't know how I feel about anything anymore. My friends have said I'm "moody" and "irritable". I guess they're right, but I don't really care. I guess  don't really care about anything anymore. </p><p>That thought in itself should be scary, but honestly, it's not. I could care less. I don't know when this started exactly, but I do know why. And I only have myself to blame for it. </p><p>I roll over, not willing to be a mushy mess again tonight. There's gotta be a bright side somewhere, right? I guess I'm going on a roadtrip tomorrow. Maybe that'll help, at least give me some noise to drown the numbness in. </p><p>God I hate this. I hate feeling like this. It's like all the enjoyment's gone out of my life. Even working on bikes doesn't give me the same thrill. One minute I was working, and the next I was sitting there, wrench in hand, realizing that I wasn't enjoying myself whatsoever. </p><p>Fantastic, here I am again, just thinking about it. Maybe a vacation is what I need or something. Yeah, it'll go better when I'm out of normal life for a bit. For some reason, I started thinking about Itona and Hazama. They kinda radiate edginess. It's nothing against them, I love hanging out with both of them, but they just seem to exist in a constant state of edgy. It's just normal for them, and everyone just accepts it. </p><p>Well, at least they did. Things are looking up for them I guess. Both either in a relationship or with a decent chance of getting in one. Matsu too. Hell, even Terasaka isn't single by some cosmic fuckup. They're all moving forward in life, going places, being happy. </p><p>So where does that leave me, huh? I wouldn't trade what happened this year for anything. The amazing things I've gotten to do and see, the people I've gotten to meet, all of that has been amazing, but even so...I guess I miss the old days when it was just the four of us dicking around and being assholes. </p><p>Did it all start with Itona? I think so. Ever since Terasaka's first one on one encounter with him, things started to change. At first things got better, but then everything started going too fast. Honestly, I thought Itona had a thing for Terasaka before either of them said anything. The way he looked at Terasaka, like he was the most incredible thing to walk the earth. No matter what he said, I knew. </p><p>But Terasaka feeling the same, that threw me for a loop. I'm happy for them, I really am, they both deserve it. But that changed everything. Terasaka got on his weird self improvement trend, and everyone else followed suit. Matsu got a girlfriend, Hazama started gunning for her sunshiny girl crush, and the gang just...changed. Four became five with Itona, and then six with Ritsu. She always kinda hung around before, but soon it became clear that she preferred our gang.</p><p>They were both transfer students, it was fine. They were just adding on to what was already there, not disrupting the balance. But then six became seven with Hara, and eight with Takebayashi. Yeah, the nerd actually started hanging with us on a normal basis. It just feels...wrong somehow. How someone we always used to pick on just rides with us now. And Hara, we've known each other longer than I've known anyone in the gang. I should be cool with it, right?</p><p>But I'm not. Does that make me a prick? Guess our numbers are increasing to nine. Terasaka told me that Kurahashi is coming along too, which is fantastic, just fan-freaking-tastic. I guess I am a prick, because I guess I don't want to share my friend group with five fucking imposters!</p><p>The second I think that, I feel guilty. Itona's been a good friend to me as any of the others, and again, I've known Hara since forever. Ritsu and Kurahashi are nothing but sweet and nice, and Takebayashi is actually kinda cool. They complete the group, I know it, I can feel it. It just feels so full.</p><p>And is there any room left for me? We fit so well together, just the four of us. But then others fit well too, and to fit, they had to squish me a little, until I don't fit as nicely anymore. Like that puzzle piece my dog chewed on. It still fits in the puzzle, but it just doesn't fir right. </p><p>Am I crazy for thinking that? It's almost one am, and I'm having a full on emotional monologue session on my friend's couch. This isn't something a normal person does...probably? Anyways, fuck that, no more feelings. Tomorrow I'm gonna scream and yell and laugh with everyone, and blare my mixtapes and drive and have so much fucking fun that I'll blow these feelings out of the water. </p><p>That's who I am after all. The fun one, the daredevil, the cool one. I mean, I was. I don't know what I am now. The odd one out? </p><p>Dammit, the return of the feelings, the feelings strike back. It's too quiet here. I usually spend my nights blasting my eardrums with anything that makes it too loud to think. I didn't bring my headphones though, and I have a feeling Matsu would actually kill me if I tried to play anything now. </p><p>Is it weird I want chloroform? I just want to sleep, stop being a sad sack. Maybe I should ask if Takebayashi has any. That sounds like something he would have...</p><p>I smacked myself in the face with my pillow. This was it for real this time, no more moping. If the others knew I was laying here on Matsu's couch being a wuss, they'd laugh at me. I was gonna have fun if it killed me, and knowing Terasaka's driving skills, it might. </p><p>Somehow I finally managed to fall asleep, and had one of those weird memory dreams. It was the day the four of us went to a lake to attempt to fish, despite having no fishing gear. The entire trip was basically us sitting around on a bench, poking sticks into the water and being surprised when we didn't get any bites. It was perfect, and then suddenly Itona was there, then Ritsu, then Hara, and then everyone else who had joined recently. They kept moving onto the bench and I slid closer and closer to the end, until only half of my ass was on the bench. </p><p>But they kept coming, and soon I was on the ground. There wasn't enough room on the bench. There wasn't a place for me. </p><p>Looking back, that's gotta be one of the most depressing things to ever emerge from my skull. I should write an edgy song about it, then play it at max volume. That'll help. Probably.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. How we kidnapped a man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>New beginnings! A new adventure! Kidnapping!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, I'm glad a lot of you said you're excited for the sequel. Well, here we are XD<br/>If this is your first time reading my work, hi, welcome! You don't have to read the chaotic disaster of a first fic before reading this, but if you want to, then go ahead. </p>
<p>I thought I was going to take a short break before writing this, but I got too excited, so here we are. You know the drill, it's chapter time!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I rubbed my hands together. "Oh yeah, it's all coming together." </p>
<p>"It's too early for this level of excitement." Itona grumbled, yanking his bandanna over his eyes and slumping back on top of a suitcase. </p>
<p>"It's only seven thirty!" I said, checking my watch. "The perfect time for adventuring."</p>
<p>"Sure it is." Itona mumbled. I grinned and ruffled his hair. I did owe him one for going along with this, after all. </p>
<p>"I think my spine just cracked." Yoshida grumbled as he hoisted a suitcase into the trunk of my van. "Why am I the only one doing the lifting?"</p>
<p>"Because I'm the leader." I said, crossing my arms. "I'm too busy supervising."</p>
<p>"Bullshit." Yoshida said, rolling his eyes. He sent a poisonous look in the direction of Matsu and Hara. The two had gone off together and were making lovey dovey faces. Yoshida's never been super tolerant of PDA, but it seems like he has a special hatred for those two being together. </p>
<p>"I'm not going over there." I said. Instead I took out my phone. "Ritsu! Gimme a rundown!" </p>
<p>"Sure thing!" She chirped. "Everyone's here except for Kurahashi. If we keep on track like this, we'll be able to avoid most of the morning traffic."</p>
<p>"Awesome possum." I said, looking around at my crew. Aside from the lovebirds and Yoshida and Itona, there was Hazama who was reading under a tree. Takebayashi was off writing an equation for...some reason. I didn't know what he was doing, and I wasn't gonna ask. It wasn't a good time for math. Hell, it's never a good time for math. </p>
<p>Yoshida lifted the last suitcase into the van and groaned. "Ok, can I please be done now?"</p>
<p>"Someone's crabby." I said. "Itona, do you think he's crabby?"</p>
<p>"Go bother someone else." Itona grumbled. </p>
<p>"Damn, two crabs." I said, making pinching claws with my hands. I moved them towards Yoshida and Itona. "Pinch pinch..."</p>
<p>"Do it and die." Itona said, and I decided to back off. Lucky for Itona, I was distracted by the sight of Kurahashi running towards us...with a plus one!</p>
<p>"Sorry I'm late!" She called, jogging over. "I had to find a pet sitter who was willing to take all of my babies!" </p>
<p>"VIP access only!" I yelled, jumping in front of her and spreading my arms out. I glared down at the two girls. "What the hell are you doing here?"</p>
<p>Rio Nakamura smirked up at me. "I heard there was a party, so I wanted in."</p>
<p>"No way." I growled. Rio and I had enough run ins for me to decide that I didn't like her. There was no way she was coming. </p>
<p>"I'm sorry, but I forgot that I promised Rio that we'd hang out over break." Kurahashi said. "And I figured it would be ok, because your van's so big."</p>
<p>"No." I said. "Beat it blondie."</p>
<p>I felt a hand on my shoulder, long nails digging in. "Terasaka." Hazama said in a scary voice. "Let her come."</p>
<p>"No." I said, shuddering. I didn't want to turn around and face the pure nightmare fuel behind me. "She wasn't invited, and I don't like her." Hazama's grip on my shoulder tightened. </p>
<p>"Terasaka, don't be rude." I was in danger of getting severely injured. Someone should have informed Hazama that bros come before hos. But because I am a generous and wonderful friend, I backed down. </p>
<p>"Fine." I grumbled. "She can come."</p>
<p>"Thank you Terasaka!" Kurahashi said brightly, jogging over to Yoshida to deposit her bags. Yoshida was not pleased by this. </p>
<p>"What am I? A fucking bellboy?" He snapped as he placed the luggage in the van. </p>
<p>"Bellboys work in hotels." Matsu said, walking over with Hara. As per usual, they were holding hands. I grabbed Itona's hand, so we wouldn't be shown up. </p>
<p>"Who gives a shit." Yoshida said, slinking off into the van. He'd been especially grumpy for a while now. At this point, the rest of us had given up on trying to cheer him up, and had decided to try giving him some space. Hopefully a vacation would snap him out of it. </p>
<p>"Alright, everybody in!" I cheered. I raised my eyebrows as Kurahashi took Hazama by the hand, pulling her into the van. Before things went any further, I had to make sure that Hazama promised that I could speak at the wedding. </p>
<p>"Alright, you ready?" I asked, pulling Itona's bandanna away from his eyes. </p>
<p>"No, not really. I call shotgun by the way."</p>
<p>"Great, I want you next to me the whole time." I said, pulling him to his feet. </p>
<p>"That was cheesy." Itona rolled his eyes, but smiled. </p>
<p>"We have a slight problem."</p>
<p>"GYAH!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. Takebayashi had somehow gotten behind me and had scared the living daylights out of me. "Jesus! Don't do that! I gotta tie a bell around your neck or something." This wasn't the first time he had done this. </p>
<p>"Over there." Takebayashi pointed at a figure running away from the parking lot. I grimaced. I had been afraid of this. </p>
<p>"Shit. Campus student police." Ok, so teeechnically I wasn't supposed to park on the main school grounds. I figured that it was early enough that no one would see, but leave it to the A class whack jobs to be at school when they didn't have to. "We gotta go, now."</p>
<p>"What are they gonna do? Arrest us?" Itona asked, raising an eyebrow. I realized he'd never had a run in with them before. </p>
<p>"No, these guys are nuts." I said. "They're the tattletales and teachers pets that never grew out of it after kindergarten. The scouts aren't bad, but before you know it-"</p>
<p>"What do we have here?" a snide voice asked. My shoulders slumped in defeat. </p>
<p>"They get the big dogs." I sighed heavily, and tried to put on my nicest smile. "Good morning, can I help you?" </p>
<p>Gakushu Asano stared back at me, arms crossed. Well this was great. "You're from E class, aren't you." he said, narrowing his eyes. "You're not allowed to park here."</p>
<p>"What? Oh this? This isn't my van." I said, trying to appear casual. "I stole it."</p>
<p>"Wow, nice one." Itona muttered. I elbowed him.</p>
<p>Asano looked like a cat that had swallowed a canary. "That so? Well, guess we'll have to have a little talk about this."</p>
<p>"I'd love to, but I gotta go." I said. "Nice talking to you. Bye bye-"</p>
<p>For the second time, my shoulder was gripped, preventing me from moving. "I don't think so." Asano said. "I've been wanting to talk to E class students for a while now, and I think we're going to sit down and have a nice, private chat, don't you think? I'd hate to get my father involved."</p>
<p>"Oh now you flaunt your daddy." I growled. "Look, I got places to be."</p>
<p>Itona was looking at Asano inquisitively. "Damn, he does look like Karma."</p>
<p>Asano stared back at him. "Who the hell are you?" </p>
<p>"He's no one. Now we will be leaving." I turned to Itona. "Sorry you had to meet this guy." </p>
<p>I think it was the way Asano waved his fancy phone around that made me do what I did next. Before my brain decided to do it's damn job, I jumped forward and grabbed the phone. </p>
<p>"Hey! What the hell was that-"</p>
<p>"YEET!" I yelled, tossing it across the road, where it shattered. </p>
<p>"WHAT THE FU-" Asano never got to finish, because something was in his way. That would be my fist. I punched him in the face, is what I'm trying to say. </p>
<p>"Woah." Itona said, a smile spreading across my violent little shrimp's face. "Nice shot."</p>
<p>"TERASAKA!" Hazama yelled. She was significantly less pleased. </p>
<p>"Oh shit." My brain had finally caught up. Asano was slumped forward against me, out cold. I must have hit him harder than I thought. "Oh shit."</p>
<p>"Oh shit." Itona agreed. "We're screwed." He said this in his usual blunt, matter of fact tone. </p>
<p>"Uhhh..." I looked around frantically. No one else was around. For the time being, I was safe, but that could change at any moment. I looked around, trying to think of anything, anything I could do...</p>
<p>I rushed over to my van, opened the trunk, and shoved Asano in, up against the luggage, before slamming the door. I grabbed Itona by the arm and sped into the van, jamming the key into the ignition. </p>
<p>"Terasaka, what the fuck just happened?" Hazama said coldly. </p>
<p>"Uh, so we're going. Right now. Extremely fast." I said, pulling out of the parking lot. </p>
<p>"Did you...put a body in the trunk?" Kurahashi asked nervously. </p>
<p>"Are we fugitives now?" Ritsu asked brightly. </p>
<p>"No, uh...I mean, he's not dead." I said, trying to make it sound like no big deal. </p>
<p>"That, was the principal's son." Hazama said. "You broke his phone, punched him, knocked him out, threw him in the trunk, and left?!" </p>
<p>"Yeah, that sounds about right. For all of you that missed it, that's what happened." I said, refusing to look back. Itona snickered. I had a feeling that he was enjoying this. </p>
<p>"We kidnapped Asano." Muramatsu said in a small voice. "We're so dead."</p>
<p>"Not if we dump him in a lake somewhere." Rio chimed in. </p>
<p>"Hey, that's not a bad idea." I said. "Does anyone know where the nearest lake is?"</p>
<p>"WE'RE NOT KILLING HIM!" Matsu shrieked. "We're turning around right now and bringing him back."</p>
<p>"We'll drop him off in the next town or something." I said. "So we have time to escape."</p>
<p>"We kidnapped a man." Matsu said, looking scared. Hara patted his shoulder. </p>
<p>"Damn, I should have started hanging out with you all sooner." Rio said, grinning. </p>
<p>"So we're all just ok with the fact that we kidnapped the principal's son?!" Matsu asked incredulously. </p>
<p>"I mean, yeah." I said. Itona nodded and Yoshida shrugged. </p>
<p>Takebayashi adjusted his glasses with a sinister grin. "I will take this opportunity to continue my revenge."</p>
<p>"I sure as hell don't have any problems." Rio laughed. </p>
<p>"Should we give him a blanket or something so he's more comfortable?" Kurahashi asked. Hazama nodded, agreeing not out of the kindness of her heart, but out of a desire to please Kurahashi. </p>
<p>"We're going to jail." Matsu said. Hara began to lead him through some deep breathing exercises. </p>
<p>"Well, this is starting out well." I said. "Who wants some music!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Honestly, I forgot Asano was in the trunk. I think we all did after a while. We'd all been screaming along to the song on the radio, when I hit an especially large bump, causing the suitcases to shift and topple. We heard several thumps. And then...</p>
<p>"OW!" </p>
<p>"Oh no." Hazama said, sitting up.</p>
<p>"Oh right, we kidnapped someone." Itona said, looking genuinely unconcerned. </p>
<p>Another bump. "OW!" </p>
<p>"Let's pretend we don't hear him." Yoshida suggested. </p>
<p>"I don't know, I think we're far enough away that he can't do anything." Ritsu suggested. </p>
<p>"Yeah, maybe he can ride up here now?" Kurahashi asked.</p>
<p>"Hmm." I considered it. "I dunno. This is Asano."</p>
<p>"I still have no idea who he is." Itona said. "But it's nice to throw someone else in a truck for once." I patted his head. </p>
<p>"Maybe this could be a show of goodwill?" Hazama offered. </p>
<p>"Oh yeah, that's a really great peace offering. We kidnap him, but because we're so nice and friendly, we let him ride out of the trunk."</p>
<p>"Exactly!" I said. </p>
<p>"Nahhhh, let's leave him" Rio said, a sinister smile spreading across her face. "Like you said, it's Asano."</p>
<p>"Explanation please." Itona said, poking my arm. I gave him a rundown of the generally shitty actions of Asano, A class, and his father overall. </p>
<p>"You had the most issues with him Takebayashi. What do you think?" Hara asked, turning to face our resident nerd. </p>
<p>"Fifteen more minutes. Then we let him out." Takebayashi said calmly. "And take the route with the most turns."</p>
<p>I grinned. "Atta nerd, you got more spine then I thought!"</p>
<p>"Like I said, we're going to jail." Matsu sighed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"On three." I said. Matsu and Yoshida had joined me outside of the car as we prepared to open the trunk. </p>
<p>"Should we get a weapon ready or something?" Yoshida asked. "I feel like our lives are going to be in danger the moment we open the trunk." Muramatsu picked up a nearby stick and held it out questioningly. </p>
<p>"Yeah, that'll work." I said. "Here we go. One...two...three!" I opened the trunk and...nothing happened. What greeted us was a pile of suitcases with a leg sticking out from under them. "Oh shit. We killed him."</p>
<p>"OH GOD! WE'RE MURDERERS NOW!" Muramatsu screamed. The leg twitched. </p>
<p>"Or not. Gimme a hand boys." I said, as we lifted the suitcases away from the slumped figure of Asano. Fortunately, he wasn't dead. Unfortunately, he was still alive. Yeah, I know what I said, but if he was in any shape to kill us, he would have. </p>
<p>"This has got to be the least professional kidnapping I have ever seen." Asano growled, glaring up at us. </p>
<p>"Hello again!" I said, trying to appear friendly and goodwill-y. "Remember us?"</p>
<p>"Hold up, you've been kidnapped before?" Yoshida asked curiously. </p>
<p>Asano sighed heavily. "When your father is a man like mine, you're often used as a bargaining chip."</p>
<p>"Oh, sorry to hear that." I said. "If it makes you feel any better, we didn't mean to kidnap you. It was an accident."</p>
<p>"HOW DO YOU ACCIDENTALLY KIDNAP SOMEONE!" Asano yelled. I grabbed the stick from Muramatsu and swung it threateningly. It seemed like he was still mad. </p>
<p>"It all started during the second world war." Yoshida said, nodding. I kicked him. </p>
<p>"I hit you and I panicked, so I threw you in the trunk and drove away." I said. "It happens all the time."</p>
<p>Asano stared at me, before deciding it was too much work to argue with me. "Yeah, sure. That happens all the time. Just take me back now." He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around. "Where the hell am I?"</p>
<p>"We don't know." Yoshida said. </p>
<p>"Where are you going?"</p>
<p>"We don't know." Matsu said. </p>
<p>"Why the hell did you drive away with me?!"</p>
<p>"We don't know." I said. </p>
<p>"YOU'RE IDIOTS!" Asano screamed. At that moment, Itona opened the driver's side door and peeked out. </p>
<p>"Can you tell him to shut up? We're trying to listen to the traffic report."</p>
<p>Asano's face turned scarlet. "You're going to take me back right now, or else."</p>
<p>"Or else what?" I said threateningly. I was the one with the stick. I had the power here. I waved it threateningly. </p>
<p>"Would you put that down before you poke my eye out?" Asano snapped. This obviously wasn't going well. </p>
<p>"Hold on, we need to discuss something as a group." I said, grabbing the trunk door. </p>
<p>"Don't you fucking da-" I slammed the trunk door before he could finish. </p>
<p>"I think you should knock him out again." Yoshida said. "That makes him a lot easier to handle."</p>
<p>"I was thinking we could just dump him here and hope he makes it back on his own." I said. </p>
<p>Matsu groaned. "Guys, I can't pick up a legal record now."</p>
<p>"Why not? Can you next week?" I asked. "That's really inconvenient Muramatsu."</p>
<p>"Yeah, you turning into a pussy on us?" Yoshida said, his toxic mood making another appearance. </p>
<p>"No! Dude, what is your problem with me!" Muramatsu hissed. </p>
<p>"What's my problem? What's your problem?! You're acting like you're too good for us with your little girlfriend-"</p>
<p>"HE'S ESCAPING!" I yelled. That paused the conversation in it's tracks. Asano had kicked out the back window of the trunk, and had succeeded in crawling out. He was making his way down the road. "GET HIM!" the three of us charged after him.</p>
<p>"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!" Asano yelled, as we jumped him and dragged him back to the van. </p>
<p>"Can you two shut up and tolerate each other for two minutes, before our kidnapping victim escapes?" I snapped. Honestly, the situation made me a little sad. The two used to be as tight as it gets. I turned back to Asano. "You got two options here buddy. You can either ride in the trunk, or ride up front and be chill."</p>
<p>"And if I don't?" Asano asked, raising an eyebrow. I whacked the stick against my palm and regretted it. </p>
<p>"OW! SPLINTER!" I held my hand out to my friends. "God dammit I got a fucking owie."</p>
<p>"Ooh." Yoshida winced in sympathy. </p>
<p>"Idiots." Asano sighed again. "This is a crime you know."</p>
<p>"And you busted my back window! That's a crime too." I said. "So we're even."</p>
<p>"We are not-"</p>
<p>"Make your choice." I said, whacking the stick against the road instead of my hand. "Or...I shove the stick up your ass."</p>
<p>"WHAT?!"</p>
<p>"No, we're not doing that." Muramatsu said, pushing me out of the way. "Let's just take some nice deep breaths, ok? We're all fine, everything's fine."</p>
<p>"Nice good cop." I said, giving him a thumbs up. Matsu rolled his eyes. </p>
<p>"I'm not the good cop! I can be scary and-OH MY GOD BLOOD!" Matsu jumped back with a screech. </p>
<p>"Terrifying." Yoshida said. </p>
<p>"What happened?" I asked, squinting at Asano's apparently injured leg. </p>
<p>"I was kidnapped by a band of morons, and tried to escape by breaking a glass window." Asano said, rolling his eyes.</p>
<p>"Damn, who would do that-Oh wait." I crossed my arms. "That's your own fault. Anyways, we got a schedule to keep. Trunk or not?" </p>
<p>Asano was quiet for a minute, scowling up at us. "...Not the trunk. You're lucky I'm hungry."</p>
<p>"How are we lucky?" Yoshida asked. </p>
<p>"Don't expect us to feed you." I growled. </p>
<p>"Okay, that's enough." Hazama jumped out of the van, and held the door open. "Welcome to hell, please take your seat. We have snacks."</p>
<p>"Yeah." I said brightly. "This is an offer of goodwill!" </p>
<p>"Why didn't I realize that sooner." Asano grumbled. This was going well. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ok, so the next half hour was awkward. Every sat in silence as we drove. </p>
<p>"So...how are you?" Kurahashi finally asked. </p>
<p>"I've been better." Asano said coldly. </p>
<p>"You were right. He is an asshole." Itona said to me.</p>
<p>"I heard that." Asano snapped. </p>
<p>"He knows." Hazama said. </p>
<p>Asano looked around the car. "So there's nine of you?"</p>
<p>"Ten!" Ritsu said brightly, appearing on the gps screen. </p>
<p>Asano jumped back. "What the fuck?!"</p>
<p>"We'll explain that later." Takebayashi said. </p>
<p>"Of course you're here." Asano sneered. "Did you enlist these morons to help kidnap me?"</p>
<p>"Dude, for the last time, it was an accident." Yoshida said. "You're the one who rushed us."</p>
<p>"And this is why we don't piss off Terasakas in the wild." Itona said.</p>
<p>"And I still have no idea who you are."</p>
<p>"I'm an enigma, wrapped in mystery, wrapped in a taco." Itona said. </p>
<p>Yikes, it was time to try and break some of the tension. "I really like the word clusterfuck. Does anyone else really like the word clusterfuck?"</p>
<p>Well, that shut everyone up. Mission accomplished?</p>
<p>"Clusterfuck seems to perfectly define the situation here." Takebayashi said, adjusting his glasses. Several others nodded. </p>
<p>"Well, time for some music. ON THE ROAD AGAIN!" I bellowed. </p>
<p>"You could just turn on the damn radio." Yoshida said, hands pressed over his ears. Ok, yeah, that was a solid point. </p>
<p>"So I'm stuck in a car with the morons who broke my phone, punched me in the face, threw me in a trunk, and kidnapped me." Asano said.</p>
<p>"Technically it was only one idiot that did all of that." Hazama said. </p>
<p>"And we have no idea where we are, where we're going, and how to get back?"</p>
<p>"Pretty much." Hara said. </p>
<p>Asano sighed. "Well isn't that just great."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright! There we go! I don't know where the idea of the gang kidnapping Asano came from, but here we are XD</p>
<p>Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this new disaster of a chapter. Thanks so much for reading, it means the world to me. Cringey catchphrase has made its way over here!!</p>
<p>You only live life once, so be sure to Livitup XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. How we "group bonded"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Forced social interactions! All kinds of fun!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello friends!! Wow this sequel is surprisingly well received. I'm so happy!! XD</p><p>I answered this in a comment, but to all those who may be wondering: I decided that it would work better for this fic if Asano and Itona didn't know each other. I wasn't sure if anyone would notice, but people did so here, have a bad explanation XD </p><p>Also you guys are totally allowed to ask questions like this, it's helpful and appreciated XD</p><p>Additionally, how did Terasaka take down Asano who has martial arts skills? Well, it's Terasaka. And I guess in Asano's defense he probably assumed that he'd won and didn't expect Terasaka to do what he did. </p><p>Ok, and that's what you missed on glee! (jk what am I doing) That's all I have to say here. Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos. Now it's chapter time!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>So. This was awkward.</p><p>"And that's when I learned, never put a live wasp in your pants!" Terasaka said, finishing the most disturbing story I had ever heard. "The end!"</p><p>"Uhhh..." Hara said, looking mildly scared. </p><p>"Dude, tmi." Yoshida said, scrolling through a playlist on his phone. I saw it was titled "Angry boi hours" It looked like his mood hadn't improved.</p><p>"Who else wants to tell a story? Asano?"</p><p>"No." Asano was looking out of the window, looking like he'd appreciate the "angry boi hours" playlist too. </p><p>"Great! Everyone shh, Asano's gonna tell a story." Terasaka said, giving me a thumbs up. I gave him one back. He'd earned it for the effort. </p><p>"Fine. Once upon a time, I was kidnapped by morons. The end."</p><p>"Good story!" Terasaka said, running a red light. I poked him in the shoulder. </p><p>"Dude. Why do you have to be such a prick?" Yoshida asked, still scrolling through his playlist. </p><p>"EXCUSE ME?" Asano yelled, looking ready to throttle Yoshida. Well, things weren't going well. Thankfully Terasaka finally snapped out of his "everything's fine" mentality and decided to do something.</p><p>"LISTEN UP YOU DUMB FUCK! THIS IS A VAN FILLED WITH FRIENDSHIP! SO GET WITH THE PROGRAM OR I'LL TIE YOU TO THE ROOF!" </p><p>"Think about it like a surprise vacation!" Kurahashi said, trying to soften the blow. Honestly, she was too good for everyone in this car, just throwing it out there. </p><p>"Yeah, you said your old man hates your guts. So just relax and enjoy yourself. Or at least shut up or whatever." Yoshida said, still not looking up from his phone. </p><p>"I never said-"</p><p>"Shhhh." Terasaka said, turning on a classical music station. "Only nice thoughts in the friendship van." I saw Yoshida turning up the music on his phone.</p><p>"Terasaka, turn that shit off or I'll kill you myself." Hazama said. "I'm not riding to god knows where in an awkward hellhole like this. Icebreakers. Let's go."</p><p>Well, that was the most surprising turn of the trip so far. Hazama wanting to socialize. </p><p>"Good idea!" Terasaka, said, turning off the music. </p><p>"Ok, question one. Why is there someone in the gps?" Asano said, crossing his arms. </p><p>"Oh, uh, well, fun story." Terasaka said. "Uhhh...look man, I'd tell you, I really would, but I don't know big words. It's kind of an issue, I'm not good with brain stuff-"</p><p>"I've figured that out." Asano said, rolling his eyes. "Kotaro, say something smart."</p><p>"Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." Takebayashi said, displaying a somewhat sassy sense of humor that I could appreciate. </p><p>"Hey, I think I know that guy!" Terasaka said brightly. </p><p>Asano groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm convinced that I died, and this is hell."</p><p>Takebayashi rolled his eyes, but ultimately caved, explaining Ritsu in more detail than Terasaka ever could. Asano seemed to understand, nodding along. When the explanation was finished, he didn't even seem surprised. Unfortunately he then turned to me. </p><p>"What about him?"</p><p>"He has a name." Terasaka said protectively. "And he's a brutally abused human experiment." </p><p>Well, that shut Asano up for a bit. Alas, only for a bit. </p><p>"Prove it." He said, narrowing his eyes. I glanced at him without responding. I hate meeting new people. It's a whole process that I don't wanna deal with. It's not that I'm scared of social interactions...Ok just a little. People are scary, and my ability to speak goes into hiding. </p><p>Terasaka seemed to sense my discomfort. "Let's talk about something else. Tell us something about you."</p><p>"Why?" Asano asked.</p><p>"Oh, so we're available for questioning, but you aren't?" Rio asked, crossing her arms. </p><p>"What? No. Fine." Asano said. "What do you want to know."</p><p>"How long did it take you to get a stick that far up your ass?" Matsu mumbled.</p><p>"And how long is it?" Yoshida joined in. </p><p>"Really guys?" Hazama sighed, before asking, "What kind of wood is it?"</p><p>"Guys, come on." Kurahashi chided. "What's your favorite animal?"</p><p>Asano seemed to think. "A shark."</p><p>"Nice! You should watch shark week with us!" Terasaka said, doing a little fist pump. "Shark bros unite!" </p><p>"Ooh! Oh my god! You watch shark week?" Kurahashi asked excitedly. "I have a list of eco-friendly realistic shows there that don't portray the poor sharks as evil villains!"</p><p>"And shark sis!" Terasaka cheered. "Let's go!" </p><p>"Why do you like sharks?" Ritsu asked kindly. </p><p>Asano seemed slightly freaked out at first, before regaining his composure. "People know not to mess with them. They can sense blood and weakness."</p><p>"Cheerful..." Matsu said. </p><p>"If you scare the shit out of someone, you can smell their fear." Terasaka said brightly. I was proud of him, somewhat gross comments aside. He seemed to be really making an effort to be less of a bully and make more friends. I knew he was afraid of just being a dumb bully for the rest of his life. </p><p>"Thanks for that Terasaka." Matsu said, as Rio cackled. "I really needed to think about that."</p><p>"No problem buddy!" Terasaka said. "Let's keep going! My favorite animal is...uh...a lemur!" </p><p> </p><p>Going around saying our favorite animals ended up taking a lot longer than anyone thought it would. Kurahashi ended up listing just about ever animal in existence, Hazama listening adoringly the entire time. </p><p>"...and sugar gliders. And those are just my really favorites! I have a lot of regular favorites too!"</p><p>"Do continue." Hazama said, blushing slightly. </p><p>"What are you, a disney princess?" Yoshida asked. </p><p>Asano had managed to doze off in the back seat. He had a definite resting bitch face, that much I was sure of. I could relate to having a less than friendly natural facial expression though. Hazama said that my expression was the definition of "the lights are on, but nobody's home, but there might be several traps inside."</p><p>"Wow, it's been six hours already!" Terasaka said. "I think it's time for some lunch."</p><p>Everyone agreed to that. Hara gently shook Asano awake, who quickly agreed to the idea. "I don't suppose you morons have money."</p><p>"I brought coupons!" Terasaka said, opening a glove compartment. A pile of crumpled coupons fell on my feet. "Whoops, dropped my coupons."</p><p>"Do you even know how coupons work?" Asano asked, eye twitching. Damn, just when I thought he was warming up to us. </p><p>"Yeah, you get free stuff with em." Terasaka fished around in the pile of coupons. "See? Free taco!" </p><p>"It's ok, he did a great job on his basic money worksheet last week." Hazama said. "He's really getting the hang of adding up all of the numbers. </p><p>"I genuinely can't tell if you're joking or not. And that scares me." Asano said, sighing again. </p><p>"Chillax man, we know what we're doing. Most of the time."</p><p>"Seventy five percent." I said. Terasaka rolled his eyes at me, before ruffling my hair. </p><p>"Alrighty, food it is." Terasaka said, swerving off of the highway. "If we keep going in one random direction, we'll probably find a restaurant before long!" </p><p>"I'm literally going to die here." Asano said gloomily.</p><p>"Hi! I'd like to order some food." Terasaka said, leaning out the window. "Hello? Is anyone there?"</p><p>"That's a trashcan." I said, patting his arm. </p><p>"Oh. I knew that." Terasaka said, quickly pulling forward. </p><p>By some miracle we'd arrived at a somewhat run down fast food building. It looked like it was a solid 10/10 on the sketchy scale, but hey, we were hungry. </p><p>"Is this the order thing?" Terasaka asked me. </p><p>"Yeah, there you go. Good job." I said, offering him a smile. </p><p>"Hey." Asano said, tossing something at Terasaka. </p><p>"HEY! NO THROWING STUFF IN THE FRIENDSHIP VAN-Oh. Money!" To everyone's surprise, Asano had tossed his wallet of all things to Terasaka. Terasaka grinned, before narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Wait, what's the catch?"</p><p>"No catch." Asano said. "It's my father's money anyways. Go all out."</p><p>"Woah, no way man! We can't do that!" Muramatsu protested. Terasaka snatched the wallet. </p><p>"Hell yeah we can! And we will!" he grinned. "Guess you're not so bad after all."</p><p>"Wow, your opinion was changed by money. Amazing." Asano said, before turning to me. "Would you quit staring at me?"</p><p>"Sorry. I do that." I turned to stare at something else. Alright, I was officially interested in Asano. He seemed to have family issues, something that I could obviously relate to. </p><p>"WHAT'S YOUR MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM ON THE MENU!" Terasaka yelled, still going through the seemingly endless wallet. </p><p>"Sir, you don't have to yell-"</p><p>"CAN I GET ONE OF EVERYTHING?!" </p><p>"Yes, but sir, I can hear you just fine-"</p><p>"WHAT DOES EVERYONE ELSE WANT?"</p><p>"Do they have fish?" Rio asked. </p><p>"DO YOU HAVE FISH?!"</p><p>"Sir, I heard the lady just fine-"</p><p>"WAIT, WHAT KIND OF FISH IS IT!"</p><p>Thankfully, at that point the employee decided it wasn't worth it to argue with Terasaka, choosing then to just try and get us out of there as quickly as possible. </p><p>"Wow, I've never used one of those before." Terasaka said, as we drove to the window to pick up our food. That made several others chuckle, and I was sure that I saw Asano smiling for a moment, before catching himself and looking annoyed again. </p><p>"New question for Asano." Hazama said, as Terasaka passed out food. "Why don't you have your own plans for break?"</p><p>Asano shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like I ever go anywhere with my father. Most of the people I talk to already left, and I don't really have anything to do."</p><p>"I thought you had friends!" Terasaka said.</p><p>"Friends is a strong word. They're more like acquaintances. I don't need friends, they only disappoint me."</p><p>"Jeez, high standards much?" Rio said, taking a handful of fries from Terasaka. </p><p>"HEY! EAT YOUR OWN!" </p><p>"You have five servings! Learn to share already!" </p><p>"No arguing in the friendship van." I said quietly, but just loud enough for everyone to hear. I saw Asano smiling again. </p><p>"Well, sucks to be you, but we're fresh out of spots for gang members." Terasaka said, fitting as many fries in his mouth as humanly possible. </p><p>"Wait...you're a gang?" Asano asked incredulously. </p><p>"Yeah, the one and only badass Terasaka gang." Terasaka said proudly. </p><p>"Wait a minute, I do remember you! You were that moron who wrote your name across the lockers trying to be edgy a few years back!" Asano said.</p><p>"Yeah, that was me! I don't get how they traced it back to me." Terasaka said, looking genuinely dumbfounded. </p><p>"Me either. It was such a good prank." Asano said sarcastically. </p><p>"Hey thanks! I was pretty proud of it." Terasaka said. "Incoming condiments!" he tossed a handful of ketchup packets into the back. Hazama started layering her food in it. </p><p>"That's disgusting!" Asano said, face twisting. </p><p>"Did I ask?" Hazama asked, giving him a dark look. "I prefer having my food give off the illusion of it being covered in blood." She gave him a creepy smile. Asano shifted away from her, looking uncomfortable. </p><p>"How can I convert this into a ramen dish?" Muramatsu said, examining his food. "hmm.."</p><p>"Not everything has to be ramen. Just enjoy the food for what it is." Hara said, patting his shoulder. </p><p>"The chemical makeup of this food is concerning." Takebayashi said, chewing slowly. </p><p>"No! Don't make food educational! There is no learning involved in eating! Unless you're learning not to eat something." Terasaka said firmly. "Ritsu, did I give you yours?"</p><p>"Terasaka, I can't eat."</p><p>"Oh. Right. Well if I had a digital hamburger, I'd give it to you."</p><p>"Aw, thanks!" Ritsu said brightly, little star emotes flashing around her. </p><p>"I don't think I've ever eaten shitty fast food before." Asano said, looking mildly disgusted by the food. </p><p>"Hey, don't insult shitty fast food! That's like, Muramatsu's life!" Rio protested. </p><p>"WHAT?!" Matsu yelled, looking like he was ready to cry. </p><p>"I don't mind the food at his place." Asano said. "We ordered it as catering for a school event once."</p><p>"Really!?" Now Muramatsu's eyes were shining. "You did?! What did you think? Can I have you fill out a survey? We broke your phone, so here, use mine..."</p><p>Asano begrudgingly filled out a ramen survey while the rest of us feasted, watching the scenery go by. </p><p>"New question for Asano." Rio said. "Is that your natural hair color?"</p><p>"What? Yes." Asano said defensively. "What's wrong with it?"</p><p>"Nothing-"</p><p>"It's kinda girly." Terasaka said. </p><p>"It's the twentieth century. Feminism." Hazama said. </p><p>"Oh no, not feminism." Terasaka groaned. "What did I do to deserve this fate?"</p><p>"Everything, you cisgender male."</p><p>"What does that even mean?!" Terasaka wailed. It was a big word for him. </p><p>"Not to get political, but I need to take a shit." Yoshida said. </p><p>"We were just stopped!" Terasaka yelled. "Why didn't you use the restroom then?!"</p><p>"I didn't have to go then!"</p><p>"Can't you just, go on the side of the road?"</p><p>"WHAT THE FUCK? NO!" </p><p>"Fine." Terasaka sighed. "I'll look for a place to turn off."</p><p>"Can you like, hurry?"</p><p>"Yeah, I guess I need to use the bathroom too." Kurahashi said apologetically. </p><p>"Ok, when we get there, everyone's using the bathroom. It's mandatory." </p><p>"Public bathrooms are so icky and germy!" Matsu protested. I was inclined to agree. </p><p>"What's the worst that could happen?" Terasaka said, rolling his eyes. </p><p>"Crabs can crawl into your private hair." Matsu said, pulling an industrial sized bottle of hand sanitizer out of his bag. </p><p>"Ew! That can happen?!" Rio yelled. </p><p>"How would a crab live in a toilet? I thought they lived in the ocean." Terasaka said, sounding confused. </p><p>"Not that kind of crab, Saka." Hazama said. </p><p>"Cancers? I thought they were just emotional wrecks, not toilet dwellers."</p><p>"Not that kind of crab." I said, face palming. "You know, the sexual one."</p><p>"Sexy crabs?? I mean, I'm not into it, but you do you. I don't kink shame."</p><p>"NO!" Yelled the entire van.</p><p>"What the hell were you doing in health class?" Matsu asked.</p><p>"I dunno, sleeping probably."</p><p>"Who wants to explain crabs to Terasaka? Not it." Hazama said, placing a finger on her nose. The rest of us quickly followed suit. </p><p>Thankfully, the topic of crabs was quickly dropped as Terasaka sped through yet another red light. "Terasaka!" I yelled, poking him again. </p><p>"Whoops." He said. "I thought it was yellow."</p><p>"Why would you speed up?!" Hazama yelled. </p><p>"Because that's what it means! The yellow light means speed up!" Terasaka said. "Quit, whining, we're all fine...uh oh." The sound of sirens was now audible. </p><p>"Way to go." Matsu sighed. "I knew we were gonna end up in jail."</p><p>"Not if I can help it." Terasaka said, pressing down harder on the pedal.</p><p>"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Matsu shrieked, clinging to the back of my seat. </p><p>"Outrunning the cops! Obviously!" Terasaka said, swerving around. </p><p>"Woohoo!" Rio cheered. Takebayashi wordlessly tightened his seatbelt. </p><p>"THIS IS A BAD IDEA!" Matsu yelled. </p><p>"Do it."</p><p>We all turned to look at the source of the voice. Asano. He had a scary grin on his face, looking strangely alive. "Do it. Bet you won't."</p><p>"Bet." Terasaka said, also grinning scarily. I hoped that I was still pretty indestructible. "Buckle up friends, here...we...go!" Terasaka floored it, sending the van off at a speed I didn't think it could go.</p><p>"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Matsu screamed, practically merging with my seat. </p><p>"WHEEE!" Terasaka yelled, weaving between cars and buildings. But the cop proved to be persistent, swerving after us. "Shit, so he wants to dance huh? Ritsu, give me some help here. Find a route that's good for losing cops."</p><p>"There's a cemetery a little ways away." Ritsu chirped. </p><p>"Perfect, we're going to need it." Matsu said, looking pale. </p><p>"Turn left here!" Ritsu said, and Terasaka jerked the wheel, following her directions as we sped through an unfamiliar city. Asano was laughing now, appearing to thoroughly enjoy himself. It seemed like he was slightly unhinged. </p><p>"Almost there! Two more right turns!" Ritsu said, appearing buckled into a digital seat. </p><p>"Alrighty!" Terasaka said, swerving more, leaving tire tracks across lawns. "This it?"</p><p>"Mhm, go behind those trees!"</p><p>"Those aren't on the road!" Matsu yelled.</p><p>"Quit backseat driving! I got this." With one last crazy jerk of the wheel, Terasaka swerved us off the road, into a patch of trees, completely concealing us. He took the key out of the engine. "Now everybody shut up."</p><p>A few moments later, the cop car sped by, sirens and lights fading into the distance.</p><p>"We did it!" Kurahashi cheered! </p><p>"Nice." Yoshida said, smiling for the first time in a while. "That was fucking badass."</p><p>"Let's do it again." Asano said, still looking strangely excited. </p><p>"See? Hanging out with us is fun!" Terasaka exclaimed. </p><p>"You all enjoyed that way too much." Matsu said, looking completely dead inside. </p><p>"There are two ways to break rules and cause general mayhem. The first is quietly doing so, manipulating and controlling everything behind the scenes. The second is out front blatantly obvious idiotic rule breaking. And the second is so much fun!" Asano laughed. </p><p>"Welcome to the wild side." Yoshida said, before turning to Terasaka. "Next time we piss off a cop, I wanna drive. I bet I could pull off way better moves than you."</p><p>"Not a chance!" Terasaka said. </p><p>"Only one way to find out." Yoshida shrugged. </p><p>"Shit, you're right, we need another cop." Terasaka said, pulling out back onto the road. Yell if you see one, and I'll do something dumb to get their attention."</p><p>"You're all psychotic." Matsu whimpered, nails dug into my seat still. </p><p>"Alright, alright. We'll be regular law abiding citizens for like and hour or something. Sound good?"</p><p>"I'll take what I can get." </p><p> </p><p>We stopped at a clean looking rest stop, that passed Muramatsu's inspection. I still saw him bring his own roll of toilet paper though. </p><p>"Not a bad trip so far." Terasaka said, stepping out of the van and stretching. "Not a bad trip at all."</p><p>"Yeah." I said. "How many crimes are we gonna commit?"</p><p>"A lot." Terasaka said, grinning. I hopped out of the van, standing next to him. </p><p>"Seriously, do you have any idea where we're going?"</p><p>"Yeah, I do! I mean, I don't know how to get there, but I know where I wanna end up." Terasaka said, shrugging. "That's good enough, right?"</p><p>"While it's traditionally better to plan out where you're going and how to get there, at least having an end goal in mind is more than I gave you credit for." Asano said, joining the two of us. </p><p>"Right? That's like, so out of character for me." Terasaka said. "You seem like you're having fun."</p><p>"Just a little." Asano snapped, crossing his arms. "It seems that this is my best choice for spending my time, but that doesn't mean intend to enjoy it or your company." With that, he stalked off towards the rest stop, returning to his regular cold self. </p><p>"I think we're growing on him", I said grinning slightly.</p><p>"Hell yeah we are. Who wouldn't be a fan of you? Much less me!" Terasaka said, ruffling my hair. "I never thought I'd have this many friends."</p><p>"I don't think Asano counts as a friend."</p><p>"Shut up." Terasaka said, shoving me playfully. "You know what I mean."</p><p>"Do you like it?"</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"Like having this many friends."</p><p>"Yeah, I do. I dunno, it's like a reflection on how I'm being a better person. I think. Am I being a better person?"</p><p>"Yeah, I think you are. A heartless bully wouldn't organize a road trip in a friendship van." </p><p>"No he would not." Terasaka said. "He definitely would not."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okie dokie, there you go friends!! Sorry for the somewhat slow update. I hope you liked the chapter! It was a lot of fun to write ^^</p><p>Thank you so much for reading and all of your comments. It means a lot to me, and I'm always trying to improve my writing. I hope you all enjoyed! You only live life once to be sure to Livitup XD (Catchphrase dying? Never XD)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. How I Thought About Princesses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hazama POV</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello hello my lovely friends!! Thank you so much for the comments and kudos. It's nice to see that this fandom isn't dead yet!! Also I'm glad I appear to be chill. I try my best. This is just for fun after all, so I don't see any reason to not be chill. Guess that's just how I am XD</p><p>Anyways, it's chapter time! I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>So I was starting to have regrets. If I'm being honest, spending the break with Kurahashi seemed like the best possible thing, so of course I had no qualms about asking her to join this little misadventure. However, it has become apparent that I made a few fatal miscalculations that are becoming more and more obvious every minute that passes. </p><p>The most blatant one is the fact that this is my gang of all people. I don't know how I managed to forget that in my lovestruck stupor, but it's more clear than ever. My friends are chaotic idiots who have a high chance of scaring her off before I can do anything. </p><p>Honestly, what was I even doing pining for Kurahashi? It wasn't like it would ever work out. She was bright and cheerful, honestly she was like a disney princess in the best way possible. I'd bet Terasaka's house that if she sang, a bird would come down and land on her finger. Disney. Fucking. Princess. </p><p>I'm obviously nothing like that. I'm probably the disgusting witch or at least a villain, and those only end up with princesses in fanfictions. And if I'm being honest, some of those lesbian fueled fanfictions are better than the original source material, but I digress. </p><p>"Hello in there!" Terasaka knocked on my head with one large hairy fist. "Anyone home?"</p><p>I swatted his hand away and rolled my eyes. "Unfortunately. This better be good. I finally managed to leave this astral plane and escape from all of you."</p><p>Terasaka nodded. "That's cool. Come check it out!" He gestured outside of the van. I had to rub my eyes as I sat up. It was one of my better periods of zoning the hell out. I hadn't even noticed that we had pulled over, and everyone but me had exited the car. Jesus, was I invisible or something? No one bothered to get me?</p><p>I made my displeasure known by punching Terasaka in the arm as I passed by to see what the hell was going on. Everyone was gathered around the front of the van, looking at something. I elbowed my way in between Muramatsu and Hara (I love disrupting his little fairy tale romance) and looked at the object of everyone's attention.</p><p>A snake. </p><p>"You guys have never seen a snake before?" I said, raising an eyebrow. </p><p>"This one's special." Yoshida said, poking it with a stick. "It has stripes."</p><p>"Lot's of snakes have stripes dumbass." They were doing a terrible job of arguing the case of the apparently "special" snake. </p><p>"See if you can make it bite the stick." Terasaka said. Of course he and the other guys were enthralled. Well, all except for Muramatsu, who mumbled something about snakes being "icky" And I didn't see Asano anywhere either. </p><p>"Hey, don't hurt it!" Kurahashi said, looking genuinely worried for the "special" snake.</p><p>"I think you have to get it's attention." Yoshida said, moving to poke it with the stick again. I strode over, grabbed the stick, and snapped it in half. "Hey! Bitch!"</p><p>"She said don't poke it." I said, handing him back the stick halves. "And now you have two sticks."</p><p>"That's true." Yoshida said. </p><p>"BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!" Terasaka yelled, waving his hands and jumping around in an idiotic attempt to get the snake's attention. </p><p>"What the hell is a "booga"?" Itona said, looking at the ground, kicking a rock with his shoe.</p><p>"I dunno." Terasaka said. "Dammit now the sticks are too short. Thanks for nothing Hazama."</p><p>"You're welcome." I said, crossing my arms. To my surprise, Kurahashi walked over and squeezed my shoulder. </p><p>"Thank you." She said quietly, and I swear I felt like I was melting into some kind of fleshy blob of happy Hazama mush. </p><p>"Hey Terasaka, how much would I have to pay you to pick up the snake with these?" Yoshida said, handing the Gorilla Man the sticks. "It's just like chopsticks and a noodle."</p><p>"This is a terrible idea." Takebayashi said, adjusting his glasses. </p><p>"No shit Sherlock!" Muramatsu yelled. "Let's just go."</p><p>"Don't worry, I don't think they'll actually do it." Hara said, turning to us non snake worshippers. "I mean, who the hell would pick up a potentially dangerous snake. </p><p>"Um...Terasaka would." Ritsu said in a small voice. </p><p>We turned to see Terasaka slowly approaching the snake, sticks posed like chopsticks. Yoshida had his phone out to video. As he crawled forward I could hear him saying "Just a big noodle, just a big noodle," over and over to himself.</p><p>"Guys are you fucking kidding me!" I yelled. </p><p>"Shhh, don't disturb the professional." Itona said, looking slightly more interested. </p><p>"Yeah, we can sell the footage to Animal Planet or something." Yoshida said. </p><p>"Oh yeah, sure, man gets fucking murdered by snake. Great television content." I said, rolling my eyes. "Terasaka, leave it alone."</p><p>Terasaka was now standing directly over the snake, clicking his "chopsticks." "Do it!" Yoshida yelled. </p><p>"Terasaka come on-"</p><p>"YEAH!" Terasaka yelled, lifting the snake with the chopsticks. "SUCK MY DICK MOTHER NATU-AAGH!" </p><p>To literally no one's surprise, the snake was pissed. It hissed, bearing its fangs and writhing. Terasaka screamed like a six year old girl, dropping the snake and running behind Itona. "IT'S GONNA KILL ME!"</p><p>"And what am I gonna do about it?" Itona asked. </p><p>The snake was still incredibly pissed. It eyed Terasaka angrily. </p><p>"This is why we don't piss of snakes." Muramatsu groaned. </p><p>"I dunno, if it attacks him I be we can sell it for a lot of money." Rio said, taking out her own phone. "I'd better video too just in case it takes out Yoshida."</p><p>The snake had separated the two groups, dividing us with it's long thin body. The former snake worshippers were pressed up against the van, leaning away from the snake. The rest of us and our brain cells stood on the other side of the snake. </p><p>"Jump over it!" Rio called. "What could possibly go wrong!"</p><p>"Can snakes jump?" Itona asked suddenly. That made the group look even more concerned. </p><p>"Terasaka maybe if you apologize nicely it'll calm down." Yoshida said nervously. </p><p>"Yeah because snakes understand language." Itona said, rolling his eyes.</p><p>"It's worth a try." Terasaka said, stepping forward. "Hey buddy, didn't mean to upset you-WOAH!" The snake jerked forward, snapping at Terasaka, sending him stumbling back. "He must speak a different language!"</p><p>"Try a different one." Takebayashi said, looking amused. He seemed to be enjoying this. </p><p>"Ok. Uhhh...Me llamo Terasaka. Donde esta el bano?" Terasaka said nervously.</p><p>"Did you just ask a snake where the bathroom is?"</p><p>"Did I? I have no idea." Terasaka said. "I failed spanish."</p><p>The snake apparently did not know where the bathroom was. It bared its fangs again, preparing to strike.</p><p>"Well fuck. We're dead." Itona said in his normal blunt tone. "Anyone in favor of using Terasaka as a meat shield?"</p><p>"Hey!" </p><p>"Wow, what a great vacation. Half of the group got dunked on by a snake." Muramatsu said, shaking his head. "Who wants to do speeches at the funeral? I know I do."</p><p>"It was nice knowing you boys." Terasaka said, saluting. "I face my death with dignity."</p><p>"We're literally going to die because you picked a snake up like it was a noodle." Itona added.</p><p>"Ok fine. I face my death with no dignity."</p><p>"Are you guys done playing with the snake? Do you want me to move it now?" Kurahashi said, stepping forward. </p><p>"Yes please." Takebayashi said. </p><p>"Woah wait hold on." Rio said. "That thing is pissed off."</p><p>"He's just a little angry." Kurahashi said, kneeling down behind the snake. "Come here, cute thing!"</p><p>"Wait Kurahashi-" I started. </p><p>"No one wants to see a hot girl die. We can't sell this part to animal planet." Yoshida grumbled. </p><p>The snake turned, I froze, and-</p><p>"Aww, see?" Kurahashi said. She was petting the snake on the head. It seemed perfectly calm now, like it hadn't just been treated like a giant noodle. "He's a good boy."</p><p>"Holy fuck. Is she a witch?" Yoshida said. "On second thought we're totally selling this to animal planet."</p><p>"It's ok. Everything's ok. They're just a bunch of meanies." Kurahashi said, continuing to pet the snake. </p><p>"I would like to object to being called a meanie." Takebayashi said, adjusting his glasses. </p><p>"Yeah you can't call me a meanie, you meanie!" Terasaka retaliated. </p><p>Itona patted his shoulder. "Good one."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>Kurahashi scooped up the snake, holding it out to the rest of us. </p><p>"EEK!" Muramatsu squealed, jerking away. </p><p>"Does anyone wanna hold him?" Kurahashi asked, smiling brightly.</p><p>"No!" Muramatsu said, now at least five feet away from the rest of us. </p><p>"We know you don't." I said, rolling my eyes. </p><p>"Hazama, do you wanna hold him?" Kurahashi asked. "He feels really cool. Kinda sleek and bumpy at the same time."</p><p>When faced with a beautiful girl holding a snake, I did what anyone would to. I held the snake. It slowly raised it's head to mine, tongue brushing against my cheek.</p><p>"IT KISSED HAZAMA!" Terasaka yelled. "OH GOD! SNAKE COOTIES!" </p><p>"Seriously!" I yelled. My regrets came back into play. Terasaka had a knack for ruining moments, a knack that I seriously didn't need right now. </p><p>"QUARANTINE! QUARANTINE!" Terasaka yelled, drawing a circle in the dirt and standing in it. "YOU CAN'T CROSS THIS CIRCLE!"</p><p>"Oh for fuck's sake." I turned to see Asano leaning against a tree. "I leave for ten minutes and you start a pandemic."</p><p>"Snake cooties aren't a thing." I growled. </p><p>"Yet!" Terasaka yelled. I flipped him off. </p><p>"Wait, where did you even go?" Hara asked.</p><p>"I don't have to tell you." Asano said. "Now let's go already. I'm bored again."</p><p>"Let's bring the snake!" Terasaka said. </p><p>"I thought it had cooties." Rio said, crossing her arms and grinning. </p><p>"Uh..." Terasaka picked up some dirt and sprinkled it over the snake's head. "There, it's been purified."</p><p>"Says who!" I yelled</p><p>"Says me! Terasaka, grand high leader of...the Church of Terasaka! Amen, praise be, and all of that shit!" </p><p>"Praise be." Itona said, clasping his hands and waving them at the sky. "Can we go now?"</p><p> </p><p>"Does someone else wanna drive? My hands are cramping." Terasaka complained. We'd been driving for about fifteen minutes. The snake had been left behind thankfully. </p><p>"Move over weakling." Yoshida said. "I'll drive." Muramatsu quickly tightened his seatbelt. </p><p>"We're gonna die."</p><p>"No we're not." Yoshida said, looking mildly annoyed. "Guess what best buddy, you're gonna ride shotgun with me."</p><p>"But-" Muramatsu said, looking at Hara. </p><p>"No buts. Now get your ass in gear before I go back and shove the snake up it!" </p><p>"You wouldn't dare!" Muramatsu spluttered. </p><p>"Try me." Yoshida said, grinning evilly. </p><p>"Kinky!" Rio chimed in.</p><p>"Rio!" Kurahashi scolded. </p><p>"Hinano." Rio said sweetly. </p><p>"Terasaka!" Terasaka added. "Now ok, we gotta do this carefully. Itona, hold the wheel while I crawl back and Yoshida climbs up. Then you and Matsu can switch places."</p><p>"WHAT! WE'RE NOT SWITCHING PLACES WHEN THE CAR IS MOVING!" Matsu yelled.</p><p>"Sounds like a plan." Yoshida said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Let's do this thing."</p><p>"GUYS!" Muramatsu wailed. </p><p>"Itona take the wheel on three." Terasaka said. "One...three!" Terasaka dove towards the back, the car swerving wildly as Itona fumbled with the wheel.</p><p>"Terasaka what the fuck!" He yelled. </p><p>"I said take it on three!"</p><p>"That's not how you...never mind." Itona sighed. </p><p>"Aight boys, here we go." Yoshida said, sliding into the front seat and taking the wheel. "That's how you do it!"</p><p>"Alright! Itona, c'mere!" Terasaka said, holding his arms out. </p><p>"I think I'll stay here."</p><p>"Itonaaaaa"</p><p>"I was kidding, relax." Itona said, sliding back and joining Terasaka. "Happy?"</p><p>"Very." Terasaka said, grinning. </p><p>"Your up Matsu, come on." Yoshida said, patting the front seat. </p><p>"I don't wanna die thank you."</p><p>"Oh come on, quit being a baby. It's fine." Yoshida said. </p><p>"Fuck you and your petty insults." Matsu grumbled, slowly making his way to the passenger seat.</p><p>Of course then, we hit a pothole. Muramatsu was launched face first into the glove compartment. Like the supportive friends we are, we burst out laughing. </p><p>"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!" Muramatsu snapped, shoving Yoshida.</p><p>"Dude I swear, I didn't!" Yoshida protested, still laughing. </p><p>"Fuck you!" Matsu yelled, shoving him again.</p><p>"Dude quit shoving me!"</p><p>"No!" another shove. </p><p>"Matsu!"</p><p>Two more shoves were enough for Yoshida to shove back, and before we knew it, a full on cat fight was going on.</p><p>"Fight fight fight!" Terasaka chanted. "Get him! Get him!"</p><p>"Who are you cheering for?" Itona asked. </p><p>"I dunno. It's a mystery." Terasaka answered. </p><p>And then we heard the sirens. </p><p>"Well shit." Yoshida said. "Way to go Matsu."</p><p>"HOW IS THIS MY FAULT!"</p><p>"Guys, shut up and look professional." I snapped. </p><p>"Wait this is good, I should try and outrun this one." Yoshida said. </p><p>"DON'T YOU DARE!" Muramatsu shrieked. </p><p>"We've encountered two cops already. I think I know where this trip is going to end. Jail." Asano mused. "I'm all for outrunning the cops."</p><p>"Yeah!" Terasaka yelled. "Everyone put your hands up. It's more fun that way! I couldn't do it last time, cause like, I was too busy driving."</p><p>"I don't want to die." Muramatsu whimpered, giving up on fighting. He took out his phone and began a video. "This is the last will and testement of Takuya Muramatsu-" he never got a chance to finish. Yoshida floored it and swerved, trying to ditch the cop. </p><p>"So this kind of thing happens often with you people." Asano said, grinning.</p><p>However, this cop wasn't going down so easily. And he wasn't giving up. He floored it too, swerving right along behind us. </p><p>"Holy shit, this is like, a boss battle." Yoshida said, checking in the rear view mirror. "Ok, I see you, let's play!"</p><p>"FUUUUCK!" Matsu screamed as Yoshida began a complicated series of turns and swerves, narrowly missing other cars, bushes, and a street light.</p><p>"I learned that on GTA! Pretty badass right!" He yelled, a manic look in his eye. It seemed that being chased by the police gave him the push he needed to break out of his funk. </p><p>But the cop soon proved to be the superior driver. He copied the previous moves, ending with swerving in front of the van, cutting us off. </p><p>"Shit, everyone play it cool!" Terasaka yelled. "I don't wanna go to jail!"</p><p>"Then why did you run from the co-" Yoshida slapped a hand over Muramatsu's mouth, before slapping on a smile and rolling down the window. </p><p>"Good day officer." he said, in a painfully cheerful voice. "Nice day isn't it?"</p><p>"Son, do you know how fast you were going just now?" the cop asked, squinting at him. </p><p>"Nope." Yoshida said. </p><p>"Did you realize that you were swerving across lanes of traffic?"</p><p>"Was I? I didn't notice."</p><p>The cop sighed heavily, before peering back into the car. "What the...how many people are in there? Where are you all going?"</p><p>"Well." Yoshida said, smiling becoming strained as he raced for a diversion. "This is my...grandson." he patted Muramatsu's knee. </p><p>"Are you fucking-" Yoshida's hand slapped back over Matsu's mouth. </p><p>"Respect your elders." he said, turning back to the cop. "Yup, just some quality bonding with my grandson."</p><p>"Uh huh." The cop said, not amused. "Then who are the rest of these people."</p><p>"They're...uh...my harem." Yoshida said. I was about ready to strangle him myself. </p><p>The cop looked as confused as the rest of us. "They're your what now?"</p><p>"My harem." Yoshida said. "Mhm, when you get to be...a hundred and forty three, you pick up a lot of goodies, ya know what I mean!" </p><p>"We love sex." Terasaka added helpfully. I kicked him at the same time that Itona elbowed him. </p><p>"How old are you?" the cop turned to Muramatsu. </p><p>"He's twelve!" Yoshida said.</p><p>"I'm twelve." Matsu mumbled. </p><p>"And you're traveling with your grandfather and his harem to where?"</p><p>"The nursing home." Matsu said, face flushing like it always did when he lied. </p><p>"And they allow harems in the nursing home?"</p><p>"The nursing home is the name of a strip club!" Rio blurted. "That...caters to the elderly!" </p><p>"Well we're going to jail now." Itona muttered. </p><p>The cop stared at Yoshida who stared back, before raising his eyebrows. "You wanna join us? I like a...firm...man...cop...guy. Firm man cop guy."</p><p>That was enough for the cop, who sighed heavily. "Just be more careful." With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, muttering about "damn kids."</p><p>"Way to go grandpa!" Matsu said angrily, shoving Yoshida again. </p><p>"What?! We were awesome together. Just like old times!" Yoshida laughed. </p><p>"I can't go to jail!" Matsu yelled. "I have like, future prospects! I can be something!"</p><p>"And I can't?" As quickly as it had appeared, the spark of life faded from Yoshida's eyes, once again replaced by his new, dull look. </p><p>"Not if you get arrested!" </p><p>"Enough." I said, crossing my arms. "Asano, get in the front. I'm not listening to these two argue like children for the next three hours. </p><p>"Wait, why m-"</p><p>"Do it." I said, giving him my most intense glare. A look of discomfort crossed over his face, before he unbuckled his seat belt to move to shotgun. That was the most satisfying thing to happen to me all day. "And no more cop bullshit. We're law abiding citizens. For now."</p><p> </p><p>By some miracle, by nightfall I was finally able to be alone with Kurahashi. I had taken on the roll of driving, I never sleep anyways, and she was now seated in the passenger seat beside me. </p><p>"Are they ok?" she asked quietly, gesturing to Yoshida and Matsu, who were sitting as far away from each other as possible. "They always seemed so close."</p><p>"They are, or I guess they were. I dunno. Yoshida's been weird lately." I said, shrugging. I'd been shoving down my worries. Yoshida got into bitchy moods all the time. We had a running joke in our gang that he was on his man period. But this time...I was starting to worry. </p><p>"Can I do anything to help?" said the pure, sweet, kindhearted angel next to me.</p><p>"They'll be fine." I said, glad the darkness could hide the reddening of my face. Curse women, why must they do this to me? </p><p>"Alright, but if something changes, let me know. I'll try my best to help." Kurahashi was quiet for a moment. "I'm really glad you invited me."</p><p>"What? You mean you're not ready to pretend you never met us?" I asked sarcastically. </p><p>"No! I'm having a lot of fun. I've never really gotten to talk to some of the people here before. And I've never really gotten to hang out with you since the tarantula thing. So it's nice, I'm glad we can do this."</p><p>"Even if we're following Terasaka's lead?"</p><p>"He's not that bad." Kurahashi giggled. She glanced over her shoulder into the backseat where Terasaka was sleeping. "He looks so peaceful."</p><p>"Pickles." The idiot grunted in his sleep. </p><p>"Nope, still Terasaka." I said, shaking my head. "Same old Terasaka."</p><p>"Well Terasaka or not, I'm happy I'm here. So thank you." Kurahashi said, leaning back in her seat and looking out the front window. I thought that was the end of our interaction.</p><p>But then she took her hand in mine.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And there we go!! I hope you guys enjoyed, I'm still having so much fun writing this, so hopefully I'll be back soon with a new chapter!!! I hope everyone has a happy valentines day, and if you're single or if you're in a relationship, you're still an amazing person so don't forget that!!</p><p>Anyways, thank you for reading, and hopefully I'll see you soon. You only life life once so be sure to Livitup!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. How I Became a Yoga Guru</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Muramatsu pov!! (I'm pretty excited XD)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Helloooo my friends!! A bit of a late update, but honestly I guess that's just my update schedule now. I know, I know I'm a failure XD</p><p>Anyways, Matsu and Yoshida's POVs are new for me, so I'm excited/nervous. So let's see how I do XD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ok, I wouldn't call myself a germaphobe, but when you grow up in a restaurant, you gain a sort of "germ awareness" that you can't really get rid of. I think it serves me well, but yeah, it makes it really hard to be in certain places. Public restrooms, public parks...Ok public places in general, pools, locker rooms, and the most important of all, the one currently keeping me from having a good time...crappy motels. </p><p>"Oh my god, a weird stain!" I yelled, jumping back. "Ew, ew, and that's just in the hallway."</p><p>"Oh my god, Matsu, shut up!" Terasaka growled. He looked exhausted. We all were, but he'd driven the most out of all of us. As a group we'd decided that we needed a good night's sleep outside of the van, and we needed it soon, leading to us booking a room in the nearest place possible. And it turned out to be gross. </p><p>"The walls are dirty, I think I saw a bug, and it smells like feet-"</p><p>"I'm gonna shove my shoe in your mouth if you don't shut up." Rio said, glaring at me. It made me shiver, but suddenly, there was a more pressing issue. </p><p>"EEK!" A massive cockroach scuttled in front of us. Cockroaches are bad news in restaurants, honestly infestations of any kind are bad news, and that's been drilled into my survival instincts. I jumped back, taking cover behind Yoshida. "I wanna sleep in the van..."</p><p>"You're kind of a pussy, you know that right?" Yoshida said, shoving me off and shooting me a dirty look. That was more effective than Rio's look, and not because of the scare factor. Yoshida had been acting like I kicked his puppy, and I didn't know why. I'd compulsively thought over every interaction I'd had with him, and I couldn't see what I had done to hurt him. I felt guilty for something I wasn't sure I had done. </p><p>"Look, I don't want to contract some kind of unknown disease ok!?" I yelled, sweating nervously as my arm brushed inches away from what looked like mold. "At least let me deep clean the room. It'll only take me a few hours."</p><p>"I honestly agree." Asano said, looking almost as sick as I did. "This place is disgusting. When you said we were staying somewhere, I expected at least a little class."</p><p>"Well sorry your highnesses." Terasaka grouched. "I'm fucking tired, so we're gonna sleep in this shit hole."</p><p>"See?! See?! You know it's a shithole!" I exclaimed. "We're leaving right now-"</p><p>"SHUT UP MATSU!" Yelled most of the group. I'm not good with group confrontation, so I gave the people what they wanted. I shut up, making a mental list of all health code violations I saw. To my surprise, Asano patted me on the shoulder, looking almost sympathetic. I gratefully accepted. I was willing to take comfort from anywhere at this point. </p><p>Speaking of comfort...I instantly traveled back to my girlfriend's arms, who hugged me, patting my back sympathetically. "It's ok, we're all tired and overly emotional. I grabbed lysol wipes." </p><p>"You're a goddess." I said. There was some hope after all. That spark was quickly destroyed as I did a weird  jump twirling maneuver to avoid a suspicious looking stain on the carpet, slamming into Takebayashi. Even the normally quiet nerd sent me an annoyed look. </p><p>"I wish I didn't come." I mumbled to Hara. </p><p>"What?!" She said, looking genuinely surprised. "Why? If it's because of the motel-"</p><p>"No it's not the motel." I sighed. "I don't know, I feel like I'm being pushed out of the group. Every other word someone says to me is "shut up Matsu" or "grow a pair" or something along those lines. I'm pretty sure I'm just annoying everyone."</p><p>"Hey, no you're not." Hara said. "Like I said, everyone is tired..." she trailed off as she caught Yoshida glaring at us. "Ok, I don't know what's up with him though."</p><p>"I don't either!" I hissed, making sure he couldn't hear. "We've been best friends for years! I don't understand what happened! I mean, he got a little bitchy when we got together, but I thought he was just jealous. Honestly, things got bad the day of the trip. We were hanging out gaming like old times, and halfway through..." I trailed off. "Oh god I know what happened."</p><p>"What?" Hara asked. </p><p>"Remember how I mentioned applying for that culinary school?" I asked. "Well, I got in. And I think Yoshida was the one who got the mail when it came in."</p><p>"That's amazing!" she exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you." She narrowed her eyes at Yoshida. "Do I have to hit him? He just sounds like a jealous bastard now."</p><p>I had no doubt that she would hit him if she felt like it was necessary. "No, no it's not that. I...I would have to leave. Get a dorm there. Leave you."</p><p>"Oh." Hara said quietly, before forcing a smile. "We can always skype, text, it'll be ok."</p><p>"Oh my god I don't deserve you." I said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Yoshi's never liked change. And I know he has abandonment issues. He lives with his dad now. His mom jumped ship, and so did his older brother. I don't want to be the same way."</p><p>"You're not!" Hara said. "Aw man, now I feel like a total bitch. I'm not gonna hit him. Poor guy."</p><p>"I'd hug him, but I think he'd kill me." I said, sighing. "I dunno. I've been noticing these things for a while, ever since Itona joined the gang. He doesn't like change like I said. And just when he was finally getting used to Itona, I got together with you, and we became friends with Takebayashi, and everything. He's probably scared. I should talk to him." I started to walk forward when Hara grabbed my arm. </p><p>"Slow down there Turbo. We all need sleep. Everyone's overly emotional and tired. Nothing's gonna get solved tonight."</p><p>"I don't know if I can sleep in this place. It's so gross." I moaned, before pausing. "Oh shit, I sound like Asano." </p><p>"Excuse me?" I nearly jumped out of my skin. Asano had somehow gotten behind us, and I had no doubt that he'd been eavesdropping. </p><p>"Dude." Hara said, shooting him a glare. If anyone has balls of steel, it's Hara. She's the boldest person I know, aside from Terasaka, and his bravery comes from stupidity. </p><p>"What?" Asano said, shrugging. "You're like my own little soap opera. I'm bored, so come on, keep spilling the tea."</p><p>Hara's face changed to a disgusted expression. "You're a dick. We're not your entertainment."</p><p>Asano's face reddened slightly, his expression changing to annoyance. He turned to me. "Just when I was starting to like you. You should get better taste. You could do better than an angry bitch."</p><p>I was ready to go off, but he quickly strode away, using the others as a shield against anything I did. Clever bastard. "I'm gonna kill him in his sleep."</p><p>"It's not worth it." Hara said, shaking her head. "I'm not hurt or anything. He's just a sheltered rich bitch. He's used to living in a fancy bubble, so I'm going to revel in his discomfort." She gave me a wicked grin. "Oops, I sound kinda demented."</p><p>"No, you're just bold enough to say what everyone's thinking." I said, grinning back. "It's admirable." And then my insides went cold. Asano had slid over to Yoshida, appearing to be talking to him quietly. The rich bitch in question glanced over to me, mouth curving in a smile. </p><p>"Oh hell no." Hara said. "I refuse to like anyone who starts drama past eleven pm. He's the one getting punched." </p><p>"No, leave him." I said. "Yoshida's not gonna fall for some kind of dumb rumor." At least I hoped he wouldn't. "We don't even know what they're talking about. It could be a love confession for all we know."</p><p>Hara snorted. "Yoshida and Asano? That's my new crack ship."</p><p>I couldn't help but snicker. "If it works out, I'll give you my life's savings."</p><p>"I think you're safe. It's a crack ship for a reason." Hara laughed, before quieting. "We've known each other since we were kids you know."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"Me and Yoshida." Hara said. "We lived next door to each other for a while. We said we were each other's "bestest friends" in first grade."</p><p>"That's adorable!" I exclaimed. "Wait, I knew you guys have known each other for a while, but I didn't know you were that close."</p><p>"Yeah, we honestly were really close." Hara said. "Um, when some of the other kids called me a piggy, Yoshida ran them over with a tricycle."</p><p>"HE WHAT?"</p><p>"Shh!" Hara said, failing to stop herself from giggling. "He went speeding by on the tricycle, hair slicked back with waaaay too much hair gel. And when the teacher said he was in trouble, he said he was a bad bitch and danger was his middle name."</p><p>"Oh my god." I was giggling too. "That's adorable."</p><p>"Yeah." Hara said, wiping tears from her eyes. "We were best friends ever since, all through grade school. We had a little tree house and everything. When his mom left, he ran away and hid in there for a week. I brought him food and biker magazines."</p><p>"This is the purest thing ever." I said, shaking my head. </p><p>"Yeah." Hara said, smile turning sad. "When his brother left in the last year of primary school, he drew into himself. He pushed me away, and I didn't know how to help him. Then my family moved a little ways away, and we fell apart. We were in each others' class a few times over the years, but we haven't really talked since this year. And honestly, I think he's mad at me. I could have done more for him."</p><p>"Ok, when we get the chance, the three of us are sitting down and having a talk." I said. "I brought a talking stick and everything."</p><p>Hara squeezed my hand again. "You're really something else, you know that right?"</p><p>"...Is that a good thing?"</p><p>"Of course it is. I just can't get over how lucky I am."</p><p> </p><p>Somehow, I slept in the gross motel. I had a dream that I was drowning in mold, but aside from that, I was alright. (I sanitized my spot on the floor for an hour before hand. It was necessary.) I woke up to the sounds of a Terasaka in pain. </p><p>"NECK CRAMP!" the idiot yelled, jumping out of the bed and stepping on my leg. </p><p>"OW!" </p><p>"SORRY! AGH MY NECK!" Terasaka hopped around the room in a weird dance of pain. </p><p>"Stop! Stop!" I said, waving my hands. "Here, do this." I showed him a few neck stretches, which he did. </p><p>"OW!"</p><p>"No, no that's good! You're stretching!" </p><p>"The hell's going on?" Yoshida asked, glaring from another spot on the floor. Takebayashi was curled up like a cat in an arm chair, blinking at us sleepily, his glasses on a side table next to him. Itona burrowed further under the covers. A pillow flew across the room and smacked Terasaka in the face. </p><p>Asano shot him a spiteful glare, before pulling his satin sleep mask back over his eyes. "I refuse to deal with stupidity before nine am."</p><p>"No, we gotta get on the road. Up and at em!" I said, clapping my hands. No one moved. "Fine." I said, starting my morning routine. I knelt carefully on my patch of clean carpet, stretching into child's pose.</p><p>"What the hell are you doing?" Yoshida asked. </p><p>"Yoga." I said. "Since I'm missing my classes, I have to keep myself loose. Besides, it's good for the body and soul."</p><p>"You do yoga?" Terasaka asked incredulously. Yoshida rolled his eyes. </p><p>"If you're gonna hate then shut up." I said, pushing up into downward dog. "Or if you're smart, you can join me."</p><p>"I mean, if it gets this kink out of my back, sure." Terasaka said, doing a horrible rendition of downward dog next to me. "Itona, get over here."</p><p>Itona was obviously the most flexible of us, which made me look less than professional if I was being honest, but I wasn't giving up. "Ok! Everyone on the ground! Let's go! Time for morning stretches." Takebayashi joined us, and then to my surprise, Yoshida. Asano didn't move from his spot.</p><p>"You all look stupid."</p><p>"Ok." I said. "Tree pose! Let's go!" I stretched into the pose, watching as the others followed suit. Itona held it perfectly, as the others wobbled a little bit. </p><p>"Now you look really stupid." Asano said, smirking. </p><p>"WAAUGH!" Terasaka yelled, flailing his arms as he fell to the side, taking out a lamp and landing on Asano. </p><p>Itona smirked. "Timber."</p><p>"Look at a spot on the wall!" I said. "I told you to do that so that doesn't happen!" </p><p>"My bad." Terasaka said, going back to his wobbly tree pose. Asano looked ready to kill. However, yoga is good for calming emotions, and I was done with the tense group dynamic. </p><p>"Asano, get your ass over here and do some stretches!" I snapped. I must have sounded harsh, because Asano's eyes widened slightly, before he slunk over, standing in a pretty decent tree pose. "That's what I like to see." I said. "Alright, on the floor, criss cross applesauce. It's time for deep breathing. Terasaka, cross your legs the other way. Asano, Yoshida, no eye rolling. WE'RE GONNA BE ZEN OR ELSE!" </p><p> </p><p>I can only imagine what it looked like to the girls. </p><p>"My back." Terasaka wheezed as I pushed him into a deeper stretch. </p><p>"Come on, just a little further. You really can't touch your toes?" I said. Itona had folded perfectly in half like a taco. "Nice Itona."</p><p>"Show off." Terasaka muttered, stretching forward to outdo his boyfriend.</p><p>"Have we achieved inner peace yet?" Yoshida growled, barely touching his toes. Asano and Takebayashi were doing fairly well, leaving me free to focus on Terasaka. </p><p>"Not yet." I said. "Yoshida bending your knees is cheating!" </p><p>"AGH!" There was a crunch. In the two seconds I look my eyes off of Terasaka, he had folded into the same pose as Itona. "OW!" </p><p>"Holy shit!" I said, pushing him into a sitting position. "Know your limits!" </p><p>"Hey, my back cracked!" Terasaka said, grinning. That feels way better. Maybe there's something to this yoga thing after all." </p><p>"What the hell's going on here?" Rio asked, raising an eyebrow. </p><p>"Ooh, what a great idea!" Ritsu chirped. "Yoga is a great way to start the day!" </p><p>"That's what my yoga teacher said!" I said brightly. "Ladies, you wanna join? Hazama, you know you want to."</p><p>Hazama rolled her eyes, but took a seat on the floor, grunting as she tried to stretch. "Ow. How is this a good start?"</p><p>"I think it's energizing!" Kurahashi said, sitting down next to her and stretching. </p><p>"Yeah. I love yoga." Hazama said suddenly. Rio and Hara followed suit, and even Ritsu appeared to be stretching on our phone screens. It went on like this for fifteen more minutes, stretching until finally I had them sitting, legs crossed and eyes closed, doing some deep breathing to finish off the session. </p><p>"In for three seconds, out for three seconds. If you think you can do more, in for five, out for five." Being a yoga guru apparently gave me power. "Now slowly open your eyes and get to your feet."</p><p>That part went smoothly, aside from Terasaka stumbling and whacking his head on the same lamp he'd knocked over earlier. "OW!" </p><p>"Cool. We're done." Itona said, starting to leave the circle of yoga I created. </p><p>"DON'T MOVE!" I yelled. "You can't leave yet." I clasped my hands and bowed. "Namaste." </p><p>"Is that a kind of pasta?" Terasaka asked?</p><p>"No! Namaste, not pasta!" I snapped. "Do it back." To my amazement, they obliged. "Alright, now we're done. How you guys feeling?"</p><p>"Relaxed." Yoshida said in surprise. "I thought this was gonna be a shit show."</p><p>"Don't doubt the power of yoga." I said, crossing my arms. "Alright, we ready to get back on the road?"</p><p> </p><p>Of course, we couldn't keep going without snacks. I volunteered to go empty out the vending machines, and to my surprise Yoshida volunteered to come with. The walk down the hall was silent, and I couldn't help but glance at him every few seconds. I felt like I should say something. I need to say something but the words didn't come...</p><p>"Hey, for real. Sorry for giving you shit about the yoga." Yoshida said. "You're not allowed to tell anyone I did that, but it worked. I didn't know you did yoga."</p><p>"Every morning on Mondays and Wednesdays. Sometimes Saturdays if there was an opening." </p><p>"That's what you were doing?!" Yoshida exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me! All you said was improving your health so you could feel like yourself. I thought you were dealing with constipation or something!" </p><p>"WHAT?!" I yelled. "No! Technically it's still true. I don't feel like myself until I'm stretched out."</p><p>"That's weird."</p><p>"And I didn't tell you because you'd make fun of me-SEE?! LIKE THAT!" </p><p>"Oh." Yoshida said, looking surprised. "Did I go too far? My bad. I'm sorry."</p><p>Now I was staring at him. "Did you just apologize for teasing me?"</p><p>"Yeah." Yoshida said, shoving his hands in his pockets, something he did when he was embarrassed. "Sorry, I thought you knew I was just joking around. I didn't mean any of it."</p><p>"Oh." It was my turn to be surprised. "Then that's my bad. I didn't know."</p><p>"Don't worry about it." Yoshida said. "I'll work on it." He looked at me curiously. "What else don't I know about you?"</p><p>"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.</p><p>"I mean, this was news to me." Yoshida shrugged. "Any other secret interests?"</p><p>"Nothing big." I said. "You're my best friend, I'm pretty sure you know everything about me. Well..." I trailed off, looking at the ground. "I use women's shampoo. It smells nicer."</p><p>Yoshida snorted. "For real?"</p><p>"Yeah." I said defensively. "I'd rather smell like lavender than a pine forest."</p><p>"I didn't know you were so opinionated about hair products." Yoshida snickered. </p><p>"WHAT? YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!" I yelled, shoving him playfully. </p><p>"Ok, hear me out." He said, struggling to get the words out between laughter. </p><p>For a moment in that hallway, everything felt like old times again. Everything was normal between us. We were laughing, giving each other shit, making dumb jokes, bringing up even dumber old inside ones. It felt like whatever canyon was between us had closed. </p><p>"Hey, did you go through my mail?" I don't know why I said it. I should have left it alone, we were finally getting along again. </p><p>Yoshida's face instantly changed. "Why?" he asked. </p><p>"I know you know." I said finally. I was never the type to be subtle. I preferred to handle things up front. "I know what you read."</p><p>"Are you really leaving?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the hallway in front of us.</p><p>"I mean...I don't know." I said, finally giving into the doubts I was hiding. "I want to, I really do. It's been my dream. All sorts of famous chefs have come out of that school. It's my dream, it's been my dream for years." I was rambling, but I didn't care enough to stop myself. "It's why I can't get arrested, I have to have a clean record. Going to that school is all I've ever wanted for years. It's been my parents' dream too."</p><p>"So why are you not sure?" Yoshida asked, risking a glance at me. </p><p>"I don't know." I said. "Out there is amazing...but so is right here. I'm closer with you guys, I have more friends than ever, I have Hara." I shrugged. "Why throw away a good thing when you have it? I don't know." I sighed. Honestly, it might have been easier to get pushed out of the group. That would make it less painful to say goodbye. "That's why I was so psyched for this trip. To hang out with everyone, have as much fun as possible. You know, before..."</p><p>"Before you leave." Yoshida said bitterly, face dark. "Yeah, I know."</p><p>"Yoshida-"</p><p>"No, you don't have to say anything." his voice was strained. "I'm happy for you. You did it. Good job."</p><p>"Yoshida-"</p><p>"Don't let me hold you back. Follow your dreams." He was clenching his jaw, his hands were balled into tight fists. </p><p>"Yoshida-"</p><p>"YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING!" Yoshida yelled, glaring at me. I thought he was going to shove me for real for a moment. "Look, you're moving on. I'm happy for you. I'm proud of you. You don't have to say anything else."</p><p>I nodded, regretting bringing anything up. "So...what are your future plans?" I am an idiot. </p><p>"I dunno." Yoshida mumbled. "I have a record, so no fancy schools for me. Probably won't even go to college. School's for ass kissers anyways. I'll just run the shop or something..." </p><p>We didn't talk the rest of the way there and back. I should have stayed in the moment. Obviously the rift between us hadn't closed at all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ok!! There we go!! I hope you guys enjoyed, and I hope this was a decently written chapter. Feedback is totally appreciated if you have any, I feel like this chapter was pretty bad honestly XD</p><p>Anyways, that's all I have. Thank you so much for reading, it means the world. This fic is already doing way better than I thought it would. I was predicting like, zero engagement XD</p><p>Alright, I'm gonna go now. I hope you all enjoyed. You only live life once, so be sure to Livitup ^^</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And there we go!! This is kind of a teaser chapter, and I needed to post this before the end of the month long period. I probably won't update this again until I finish the first work, so this is probably just going to exist until I get to that.</p><p>Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed. If you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it!! Thank you so so much for reading. I tried messing with Yoshida and Muramatsu's points of views, and I'm hoping that went ok XD</p><p>So that's all I got for now. I hope you guys enjoyed &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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